What players drafted by the Steelers in 2015 and before are still in the NFL?

The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner. The last few offseasons, I dove into a Steelers NFL draft classes starting with the longest-tenured draft pick and outlined each successive draft. In doing so, each player selected by the Steelers was highlighted as to how their NFL career, or lack thereof, took shape. Each year was outlined with the last three draft classes all combined into one since a large number of the players were still with the team.

Since it worked before, and since a lot of the research has already been done, let’s look back at the players from these drafts yet again each weekday leading up to the opening day of the 2025 draft. Instead of going all the way back to 2011, I decided to start in 2016 which is the first draft that still has multiple players in the NFL. But before we start, today I’ll highlight players drafted by the Steelers in 2015 and before who were still in the NFL in 2024.

Part 1 of 8 will highlight players drafted by the Steelers in the 2015 NFL draft and before who were still in the NFL last season.

So let’s take a look at the four players drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2015 who were in the NFL last year, with three of them making a 53-man roster and appearing in games:

2011: Cameron Heyward

Defensive tackle, Ohio St.
Round 1
Pick 31

If you don’t know what happened to Cam Heyward since being drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft, I have to seriously question your status as a Steelers fan. The Steelers defensive captain, Heyward has been a Pro Bowler in seven seasons from 2017 through 2024 while also earning First-Team All-Pro honors four seasons in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2024. Had Heyward been classified as a defensive tackle rather than defensive end earlier in his career, the Pro Bowl numbers may have been even higher. The 2023 was very up and down Heyward as he was injured the first game of the season. Missing the next six games, Heyward played the last 10 games of the regular season at much less than 100%. But after the conclusion of the season, Heyward won the Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award and was given a two-year extension. It paid off for Heyward as he had one of his best seasons in 2024 at the age of 35. Heyward currently sits second on the Steelers all-time sack list with 88.5 only behind T.J. Watt. Heyward also became the Steelers franchise leader in regular season games played by a defensive player in 2024 with 211 passing Mel Blount (200) and Donnie Shell (201).

2012: Kelvin Beachum

Offensive tackle, SMU
Round 7
Pick 248

The only member of the Steelers 2012 draft class still in the NFL, Kelvin Beachum was a fantastic selection as the Steelers third seventh-round compensatory pick. Playing almost every spot across the offensive line for the Steelers, Beauchum eventually settled in as the starting left tackle and started 39 games in four seasons in Pittsburgh. Suffering a knee injury after six games in 2015, Beachum was replaced by Alejandro Villanueva who then started every game at left tackle for the Steelers through 2020. Signing a lucrative deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, Beachum ended up being a seventh-round compensatory draft pick which turned into a third-round pick for the Steelers. After one season in Jacksonville and three with the New York Jets, Beachum started all 16 games for the Arizona Cardinals in 2020. Beachum signed a two-year deal to stay in Arizona during the 2021 offseason and started all 17 games in 2022. Only getting 2 starts in 2023, Beachum was back with the Cardinals in 2024 where he started 12 games. Despite turning 36 this summer, Beachum has signed back with the Cardinals for the 2025 season.

2013: Nick Williams

Defensive tackle, Samford
Round 7
Pick 223

Missing his entire rookie season on the Reserve/Injured List, Nick Williams found himself on the Steelers practice squad to start 2014. Poached later in the season by the Kansas City Chiefs, Williams spent all of 2015 and part of 2016 with the Chiefs before being released after five games. Picked up by the Miami Dolphins off of waivers, Williams failed to make the team in 2017. After year out of football, Williams spent two seasons with the Chicago Bears where he started five games in 2019 and had 6.0 sacks and nine quarterback hits. Williams signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Detroit Lions for the 2020 season where he started 13 games. In 2021, Williams started all 17 games for the Lions and played 55% of their defensive snaps. Williams signed with the New York Giants where he appeared in eight games with seven starts before landing on IR with a bicep injury. Williams signed with the Los Angeles Chargers following the 2023 draft where he went on to appear in 14 games with six starts. The 2024 season saw Williams signing with the San Francisco 49ers where he appeared in two preseason games. Williams did not make the final 53-man roster and did not sign with any other team for the 2024 regular season.

2015: Bud Dupree

Outside linebacker, Kentucky
Round 1
Pick 22

After six seasons with the Steelers, Dupree’s time in the Steel City came to an end in 2021. Taking some time to get warmed up in Pittsburgh, Bud Dupree did not offer much to the Steelers in his first two seasons. Starting 15 games in his third year in 2017, Dupree managed 6.0 sacks on the season. In year four, Dupree began to see a slight increase in production when he was moved from the left side to the right side of the defense. With the Steelers picking up Dupree‘s fifth-year option, many Steelers fans thought it was not a wise decision. But Dupree had a great 2019 season where he started every game and notched 11.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, three passes defensed, 17 quarterback hits, and 16 tackles for loss. Dupree was well on his way to another outstanding season in 2021 when an ACL injury cut his season short in the 11th game. Still, Dupree had 8.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, two passes defensed, 15 quarterback hits, and eight tackles for loss.

While Dupree’s production took off towards the end of his time in Pittsburgh, he simply became a player the Steelers could not afford, especially with All Pro T.J. Watt also playing the position. Signing a five-year contract with the Tennessee Titans for an average of $16.5 million per season, Dupree was one of the higher paid free agent acquisitions in the 2021 offseason despite never making a Pro Bowl. Expected to give the Steelers a third-round compensatory pick for 2022, Dupree dealt with injury throughout 2022 and did not play enough snaps and left the Steelers with a fourth-round pick instead. After another injury-plagued season in 2022, Tennessee released Dupree to start the 2023 league year. Although a reunion with the Steelers looked to be on the table, Dupree only wanted a one-year deal while the Steelers were looking for two years. Dupree got his one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons where he started 16 games with 39 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and three passes defensed. After the 2024 draft, Dupree signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers for less than $6 million. Appearing in all 17 games, Dupree had no starts but contributed 28 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 2 passes defensed, a forced fumble, and an interception.