7 Greatest Pittsburgh Steelers players of the 21st century

2. Troy Polamalu – S

Prior to Troy Polamalu getting drafted, many felt he could become a special player at the NFL level. Well, these people were right as Polamalu developed into one of the best defensive performers to ever play for the Steelers.

Surprisingly though, he wasn’t a starter during his first season in Pittsburgh. But the Steelers quickly realized that was a mistake and Polamalu was inserted into the Steelers defense in 2004 as one of their two starting safeties.

Once he became a starter, he evolved into one of the best defenders in the league. From 2004-13, Polamalu was voted to the Pro Bowl eight times and he earned four First-Team All-Pro selections.

In 2010, he had a monster season on Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense that saw him rack up 63 tackles, 11 pass breakups, seven interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. His performance in 2010 resulted in him being named that season’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

Polamalu was arguably the single most important piece of the Steelers’ defense during their run of success in the 21st century. Without him, Pittsburgh might not have been able to win the Super Bowl in 2005 and 2008.