Pittsburgh Steelers: Ranking the 10 best players in franchise history

4. Terry Bradshaw, QB

The blonde bomber was the offensive leader of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports. After a slow start in his career as the No. 1 overall pick in 1970, Terry Bradshaw became the first quarterback to win four Super Bowls, being named MVP in two.

While the Steel Curtain gets the majority of the attention, the Steelers don’t win four Super Bowls without Bradshaw.

3. Ben Roethlisberger, QB

I will definitely get backlash for putting Ben Roethlisberger ahead of Bradshaw. But when it comes to pure skill, I don’t think it is much of a conversation anymore. Roethlisberger holds every major passing record in franchise history, has more wins, fewer interceptions, more Pro Bowl selections and a passing title.

People will point to Bradshaw’s four Super Bowls as him being better; that’s a cop-out argument. Dan Marino has zero Super Bowls, does that make Nick Foles better than him? Big Ben is the more talented quarterback. He has a pair of rings himself and owns every record there is in franchise history. Roethlisberger is the best quarterback to ever dawn the black and gold.

2. Jack Lambert, LB

The face of the Steel Curtain and maybe the best middle linebacker in NFL history, Jack Lambert will forever be a legend in the Steel City. The Steelers took Lambert in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft and he won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award that year. The six-time All-Pro was a vital member of the greatest defense in history who helped win four Super Bowls. Lambert became maybe the most feared tackler ever and helped make the Steelers a dynasty.

1. Joe Greene, DL

“Mean” Joe Greene may very well be the greatest defensive player in NFL history. The catalyst to a dynasty, Greene went to 10 Pro Bowls and made four All-Pro teams. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1969 and went on to win the Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 and 1974.

While sacks weren’t an official stat yet, Greene had a knack for getting into the backfield and giving quarterbacks nightmares. One of the greatest defensive ends of all time, one of the greatest players of all time and the greatest Steeler of all time.