T.J. Watt is now one step closer towards being a career member of the Pittsburgh Steelers after he reportedly agreed to a three-year extension that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history in terms of average annual salary.
While he just turned 30 last fall, Watt has already carved out a career that stands toe-to-toe with the greatest players in franchise history. He is easily one of the team’s best players since the turn of the century, which is saying something when you consider the talent that the Steelers have had on both sides of the ball over that span..
Not many teams across sports have enjoyed the level of talent that the Steelers have had since 2000. Over that time, that talent has helped Pittsburgh win two Super Bowls, three AFC Championships and 10 division titles. It’s also allowed the Steelers to go a record 21 consecutive seasons without a losing record.
While “Steel Curtain” legend Joe Greene is considered the greatest player in franchise history, an argument can be made as to who is the franchise’s best player this century. That question was the inspiration behind the following ranking of the franchise’s 10 best players since 2000.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the list, starting with the franchise’s best players who missed the cut but deserve mention nonetheless.
Honorable mentions
10. Jerome Bettis, RB (1996-05)
Bettis’ best years with the Steelers were in the 1990s, but he still did enough during the 2000s to earn a spot on this list. His 5,199 rushing yards this century is the third-most by a Steelers player, just behind Willie Parker (5,378 yards) and Le’Veon Bell (5,336 yards).
During that span, Bettis earned two of his six Pro Bowl selections. In 2001, Bettis was in the midst of arguably his best season before an injury sidelined him for Pittsburgh’s final five games. Three years later, Bettis came off the bench to help lead the Steelers to a 15-1 regular season record. He earned his sixth and final Pro Bowl nod that year and finished fourth in the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year voting.
Bettis retired after helping the Steelers win their first Super Bowl in 26 years following Pittsburgh’s win over Seattle in Super Bowl XL. While he was playing behind Parker at this point, Bettis still proved his value as an effective goal-line and short-yardage back. Bettis also showed in Week 14 that he still had another vintage game left in him after he rushed for 101 yards in Pittsburgh’s win over Chicago. That win propelled the Steelers on an eight-game winning streak.
“The Bus” earned a permanent parking spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
After largely flying under the radar during the first half of his career, Heyward has since established himself as a perennial Pro Bowler and a potential future Hall of Famer.
A 2011 first-round pick, Heyward didn’t become a starter until his third season. By his second season as a stater, Heyward established himself as a highly productive player who could make an impact as both a pass rusher and a run-stuffer.
Since 2017, Heyward has been named to seven Pro Bowls and has been tabbed as an All-Pro four times. In 2024, Heyward returned from a nagging injury to once again earn All-Pro honors while finishing second on the team in sacks. At 35, Heyward joined Roethlisberger (in 2017) as the oldest players in franchise history to earn Pro Bowl recognition.
Only eight Steelers in the team history have more Pro Bowl selections than Heyward, whose 211 regular season games as a Steeler is the fourth-highest total in franchise history. His 88.5 career sacks is second to only T.J. Watt on the franchise career list.
Despite suffering two major injuries, Pouncey carved out a Hall of Fame worthy career. In nine full seasons, Pouncey earned nine Pro Bowl nods, was a two-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s. Joe Greene is the only Steelers player with more Pro Bowl selections than Pouncey.
An immediate starter in Pittsburgh, Pouncey played a key role that season in helping the Steelers win the AFC (he missed the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Packers after getting hurt in the AFC title game). Over the next decade, Pouncey helped provide Ben Roethlisberger with excellent protection while helping him solidify his status as a future Hall of Famer. Pouncey also blocked for two 1,000-yard backs and two Pro Bowlers in Le’Veon Bell and James Conner.
During the mid 2010s, Pouncey was the leader of a talented offensive line that also featured fellow Pro Bowlers David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva. Together, the unit helped Roethlisberger, Bell and Antonio Brown become the most feared offensive trio in the NFL. The line played an integral role in the Steelers’ most recent AFC Championship game appearance, which occurred at the end of the 2016 season.
7. Antonio Brown, WR (2010-18)
There aren’t many players in NFL history who can rival the six-year run that Brown enjoyed from 2013-18. During that span, Brown earned six of his seven career Pro Bowl nods while becoming arguably the game’s best offensive weapon not named Tom Brady.
During that span, Brown led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards on multiple occasions. He also led the NFL touchdown catches once. During those six seasons, Brown averaged 114 catches, 1,524 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns per season. His best season was in 2015, when he set franchise records with 136 receptions for 1,834 yards. Brown set a franchise single-game record that season when he went off for 284 yards during a win over the Raiders. Brown’s success that season was more impressive when you consider that Ben Roethlisberger missed four games and parts of four others due to injury.
In 2016, Brown further etched his name into Steelers lore with his “Immaculate Extension” touchdown on Christmas Day that propelled the Steelers to a division-clinching win over the Ravens. A year later, Brown was among the frontrunners for league MVP before an injury sidelined him for the final 2.5 games of the regular season.
While he is second to Ward in most franchise career rankings, Brown does hold the four-highest single-season receiving seasons in Steelers history. His time in Pittsburgh also concludes his helmet grab that helped the Steelers defeat the Ravens in the 2010 divisional round.
6. James Harrison, OLB (2002, 2004-12, 2014-17)
Harrison’s unique career includes being the only undrafted rookie to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Harrison, who won the award in 2008, enjoyed a borderline NFL career despite not becoming a starter until the age of 29.
Harrison — who didn’t become a full-time NFL player until age 26 — quickly made up for his humble NFL beginnings, starting in 2007, his first year as a starter. Harrison had his coming out party that season against the Ravens, recording 10 tackles, six quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and an interception. That season was the first of five consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns for Harrison, who during that time was considered the NFL’s most intimidating player.
Harrison’s 2008 season was one for the ages. In 15 games, Harrison posted 101 tackles, a then-franchise record 16 sacks, a league-high seven forced fumbles and an interception. Harrison capped off his DPOY season with a 100-yard pick-six in Super Bowl XLIII.
Over the next three years, Harrison continued to be recognized as one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers. In 2014, Harrison returned to Pittsburgh (following a brief retirement) and embraced his role as a backup. While his snaps were limited, Harrison continued to excel at getting to the quarterback. He had two sacks during the 2015 playoffs and 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble during the 2016 postseason. That was also the year Harrison became the Steelers’ franchise career sack leader.
In 2024, Harrison joined several of his former teammates when he was inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor.
5. Hines Ward, WR (1998-11)
Ward is ranked ahead of fellow wideout Antonio Brown because he is the Steelers’ career leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions and is also a two-time Super Bowl champion and a former Super Bowl MVP.
Along with putting up numbers, Ward — a four-time Pro Bowler and three-time second-team All-Pro — is also arguably the best blocking receiver in NFL history. His crushing hit on then-Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers in 2008 led to the NFL creating a rule to better protect players who are deemed defenseless.
Ward’s signature moment was his MVP performance in Super Bowl XL. He caught five passes for 123 yards that included a 37-yard catch (on a third-and-28 play) that helped set up Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. His 43-yard touchdown catch midway through the fourth quarter sealed the win.
In many ways, Ward’s performance that night was a microcosm of his postseason career. In 2002, Ward led all postseason receivers with 18 receptions and three touchdowns despite the Steelers losing in the divisional round. In 2005, Ward caught three touchdowns, the most by any player that postseason.
Ward’s 88 career playoff catches is tied for the seventh-most in NFL history. He is 10th in career postseason receiving yards (1,181) and is tied for fifth in career playoff touchdown catches (10).
Despite all of his success, Ward is part of the backlog of deserving receivers who still haven’t received Hall of Fame induction. Ward was a semifinalist for induction in 2025.
Steelers All-Quarter Century Team: Several current and future Hall of Famers headline legendary roster
Bryan DeArdo
4. Alan Faneca, G (1998-07)
Like Hines Ward, Fanaca also arrived in Pittsburgh via the 1998 NFL Draft. He cracked the starting lineup as a rookie, and in 2001 began a streak of consecutive Pro Bowl selections that would extend beyond his time with the Steelers.
Faneca (who spent two years with the Jets and another with the Cardinals after leaving the Steelers) earned seven consecutive Pro Bowl nods and was a five-time All-Pro during his final seven seasons with the Steelers. He blocked for multiple 1,000-yard backs (Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker), protected two Pro Bowl quarterbacks (Kordell Stewart and Ben Roethlisberger) and helped fellow quarterback Tommy Maddox win Comeback Player of the Year in 2002.
While he had already reached All-Pro status, Faneca’s claim to fame occurred in Super Bowl XL, when his crushing block sprang Parker loose for a 75-yard touchdown run, the longest run in Super Bowl history.
Faneca was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
3. T.J. Watt, OLB (2017-present)
It doesn’t get much better than Watt from an individual standpoint. During his first eight seasons, Watt was named to seven Pro Bowls, was a four-time All-Pro and was named the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year after tying Michael Strahan’s single-season record of 22.5 sacks.
Since 1982 (when the NFL began recognizing sacks as an individual statistic), Watt is the only player who has led the league in sacks on three different occasions. Watt and Hall of Famer Reggie White are the only players over that span to record at least 13 sacks in four consecutive seasons. White is the only player to get to 100 career sacks faster than Watt, who did so in his 109th career game.
In Week 2 of the 2023 season, Watt broke James Harrison’s franchise career sack record. Watt’s 108 sacks is the most in the NFL since the start of the 2017 season.
Sacks aside, Watt has led the NFL in force fumbles twice, including last season. He has also paced the league in tackles for loss on two occasions. Watt has also intercepted off seven passes and has broken up 49 more.
Simply put, Watt is one of the most productive, dominant and versatile defenders of his era. While he’s only 30, Watt has already earned a spot on the long list of legendary defenders who have worn the black and gold.
While he didn’t earn the top spot, it’s safe to say that Roethlisberger is the player most responsible for the pair of Vince Lombardi Trophies the team has won this century.
Two decades after famously passing on Dan Marino during the NFL Draft, the Steelers didn’t make the same mistake and took Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick in 2004. Big Ben quickly proved that was a wise choice, as he helped lead the Steelers to a 15-1 record that season.
Over the next six years, Roethlisberger helped lead the Steelers to two Super Bowl wins and a third appearance in the big game. While his performance in his first Super Bowl was mostly forgettable, Roethlisberger’s previous three playoff games were anything but. Those games included his famous game-saving tackle in Indianapolis and his virtuoso performance in Pittsburgh’s AFC title game win over Denver.
Roethlisberger’s magnum opus was his game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLIII that capped off Pittsburgh’s game-winning 88-yard drive. The throw has gone down in NFL lore, while the play is considered one of the greatest in Super Bowl history.
In 2010, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a dramatic, come-from-behind win over the Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs. While the Steelers lost to the Packers in that year’s Super Bowl, Roethlisberger nonetheless became the 10th quarterback in history to start in at least three Super Bowls.
Over the next decade, Roethlisberger established himself as one of the league’s most prolific passers. He won two passing titles and in 2018 became the seventh quarterback in history to throw for at least 5,000 yards in a season. In 2014, Roethlisberger became the first player to throw six touchdowns in consecutive games. Three years later, Roethlisberger recorded his third game with at least 500 passing yards, an NFL record.
From a franchise perspective, no one has played more games for the Steelers than Roethlisberger, who suited up in 272 games for the black and gold. He’ll likely be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027, the first year he is eligible.
1. Troy Polamalu, SS (2003-14)
The Steelers wouldn’t have won their two most recent Super Bowls without Roethlisberger, but it’s safe to say they wouldn’t have won them without the exploits of Polamalu, either. The team’s best player since 2000, Polamalu gave the Steelers an edge that paid major dividends during two successful playoff runs.
In the 2005 AFC divisional round, Polamalu was all over the field during the Steelers’ shocking win over Peyton Manning and the top-seeded Colts. He made a similar impact during the following week’s win over Denver in the AFC Championship game.
Three years later, Polamalu’s pick-six in the AFC Championship game sealed the Steelers’ second trip to the Super Bowl in four years. That was also the same year he made his jaw-dropping, fingertip interception against Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.
In 2010, Polamalu became the sixth Steelers player to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. That season, he submitted two of his most famous plays: his lunging sack of Titans quarterback Kerry Collins in Week 1 and his sack/forced fumble of Joe Flacco in Week 13 that led to a Steelers win.
A decade later, Polamalu’s career was immortalized in Canton, Ohio, as he was inducted in his first year of eligibility.