In February of 1974, Al Davis, John Madden and Ron Wolf were sitting in the conference room at the Oakland Raiders offices after completing the National Football League draft. Written on four grease boards hanging next to the black slate conference table where Davis, Madden, Wolf and a number of the Raiders coaches were sitting was the list of draft choices made by all 26 NFL teams.
In those days, the NFL draft consisted of 17 rounds conducted over a two-day period beginning on Tuesday morning and concluding on Wednesday afternoon. In 1974, selections were called into the American Hotel in New York City where the league had set up their draft center. All 26 teams were represented in the room and the morning began with Pete Rozelle announcing, “With the first pick in the 1974 draft with a selection gained from a trade with the Houston Oilers the Dallas Cowboys select defensive lineman Ed Jones from Tennessee State.”
The two-day drafting of athletes coupled with the work done in preparation for the draft had taken a toll on the Raiders staff, and yet they still had the energy at the end of Wednesday to review the picks on the board and determine who they thought had the best draft. Wolf was confident that we got the right two players with the Raiders first two picks, offensive lineman Henry Lawrence and tight end Dave Casper. His assessment would prove correct as both players were major contributors to Super Bowl winning teams.
Davis was particularly interested in the three teams he competed against in the AFC West and thought the Denver Broncos did well, their first choice was a player the Raiders had rated near the top of their board, linebacker Randy Gradishar out of Ohio State. Wolf’s assistant in the player personnel department, Ken Herock, thought the Broncos would be disappointed in their second pick, Carl Wafer out of Tennessee State. “He looked better than he is because Jones was getting all the attention with double and sometimes even triple teams to try and contain him.”
After focusing on the AFC West, Davis’s next major concern were the teams that he considered his greatest challenges in the conference, specifically the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Dolphins had spent their first pick on defensive lineman Don Reese, and it was this draft that began the two-time defending Super Bowl Champion Dolphins descent from the top perch in the league.
It was also the draft that cemented the Steelers rise to the team that would dominate the decade. “I think the Steelers did well,” Wolf contributed while Davis asked for opinions in the room.
He was right.
In what is considered by most the best draft in NFL history, the Steelers in 1974 acquired four future Hall of Fame inductees with their first five picks, including Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster. For good measure, they picked up a fifth future Hall of Fame member when they signed undrafted Donnie Shell. The NFL personnel departments had 17 rounds to pick college athletes and missed on a future Hall of Famer.
Yes, the draft is not a perfect science, and in a couple weeks when the league stages their 2026 allocation of college talent, some teams will miss while others will score hits. For a team to find Hall of Famers in this year’s class a couple things have to come into play. First, the athlete has to be especially talented and survive the rigors of the NFL without suffering a career ending injury. Second, and this is what was crucial to the Steelers landing five future Hall of Famers from their rookies in 1974, the team has to play well. If the five players from that Steelers class that have a bust in Canton might have been drafted by the New Orleans Saints or San Diego Chargers, they may never have distinguished themselves as truly great; champions worthy of the league’s highest honor.
None of the smartest people in the business were able to predict on that February evening in 1974 that the Steelers had just drafted the key to four Super Bowl titles, but the players, coaching and organizations all came together to achieve the highest standards.
The draft has changed in the half century since the Steelers put together the best draft ever. It is now seven rounds, cut from 17. It is not done on Tuesday and Wednesday with reports by media personnel at team headquarters on who the local team chose.
Today, the draft is the biggest off-season pro football event of the year. It travels from city to city to host the selection process and the top draft prospects congregate to meet the NFL commissioner on stage to greet him with a welcoming handshake.
At least, that is how it has been in recent years. Not this year. The expected top draft pick, Fernando Mendoza, will be at home with his family out of respect for his mom who is bound to a wheelchair. Mendoza not attending has opened the gates for other expected first round choices to skip the affair which this year is staged in Pittsburgh.
Still, what will transpire in a couple weeks is the allocation of top college athletes to teams looking to capture the magic that is most responsible for building a champion. Will anyone be able to find college talent to lead their team to a Super Bowl with the same success as the Steelers in 1974?
Not likely, and it will take time to find out who did capture the draft class that contributes to their team ending a season in a hail of celebratory confetti. We do know this, which team wins next February in Los Angeles in Super Bowl LXI and future Vince Lombardi trophies will be pinned to who most successfully handles their draft.
It’s always been that way, whether 17 rounds or seven.