The 2026 NFL draft takes place this weekend in Pittsburgh where 43 years ago the hometown Steelers made a major first-round fumble that would end up haunting the Iron City squad for several years.
And they weren’t the only ones to swing and miss in the first round either. That said, the Steelers’ failure to select Pitt Panthers star quarterback Dan Marino was particularly egregious since the future Hall of Famer grew up and played college ball right under their nose in Steeltown. Not far from old Three Rivers Stadium.
Five quarterbacks were chosen ahead of Marino in the 1983 NFL draft, including John Elway at No. 1 (Colts) and Jim Kelly 14th (Bills). Elway and Kelly went on to enjoy Hall of Fame careers in Denver and Buffalo, respectively. The others, meh.
Kansas City used the No. 7 pick to nab Todd Blackledge from Penn State. Suffice to say that his subsequent career as a football broadcaster was far more successful than his mostly forgettable stint as an NFL pivot.
Out of Illinois, Tony Eason was chosen 16th overall by the New England Patriots. He was no Tom Brady.
The New York Jets made Ken O’Brien (yawn) from UC-Davis the 24th overall pick and fifth quarterback selected before the Miami Dolphins, who couldn’t believe their outrageous good fortune, secured Marino at No. 27. As any longtime NFL fan worth their weight in beer will tell you, over the course of his illustrious NFL career in South Florida, about the only thing Marino didn’t do was win a Super Bowl. Period.
His lightning-quick release made him one of the greatest all-time passers in the history of the game. At the conclusion of his 17-year career with the Dolphins, Marino had thrown for 420 touchdowns and more than 61,000 yards. Starting 240 of his 242 career NFL games, Marino ranks fifth all-time in regular season QB wins with 147.
A nine-time Pro Bowler, Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and had his No. 13 jersey retired by the Dolphins. Like I said, about the only thing he didn’t do was win a Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, back to the Steelers. And the ’83 draft.
Holding the No. 21 overall pick, Pittsburgh opted for defence — not necessarily a surprise, but still — and chose defensive tackle Gabriel Rivera (nicknamed Senor Sack) from Texas Tech. Tragically, Rivera played only six games in the black and gold before a car wreck left him paralyzed. He died in 2018.
Many longtime Steeler fans look back wistfully on that 1983 NFL cattle call, wondering how on earth the club could not have selected the hometown college hero, Marino, as the heir apparent to Pittsburgh great Terry Bradshaw (one of only two NFL quarterbacks along with Joe Montana to go 4-for-4 in the Super Bowl). It should’ve been a slam dunk.
After the ’83 draft, the Steelers didn’t find any real long-term solution at the quarterback position until they selected Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. He would lead Pittsburgh to Super Bowl championships in 2006 and 2009 — their first since 1980, and also their last with Bradshaw.
In Roethlisberger’s draft year, two pretty decent quarterbacks preceded him in the selections — Eli Manning, No. 1 (Chargers) and Philip Rivers, No. 4 (Giants), who wound up swapping teams. Two defensive players were chosen directly ahead of Roethlisberger, but this time, with the 11th overall pick, the Steelers got it right.
NEED TO KNOW: Forty years ago, Belleville native and Moira Secondary School graduate Mike Schad was selected 23rd overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1986 NFL draft. He remains the only Canadian ever chosen in the first round of the NFL draft directly from a Canadian university (Queen’s).
