In April of 2005 Anthony Becht signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets were left without a Tight End.
They traded their first round pick the 26th for Doug Jolley of the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders traded that pick to Seattle to move up and grab CB, Fabian Washington.
Those three trades turned the course of Pittsburgh history, because waiting to get plucked at number 30 was Heath Miller! The Steelers had a phenomenal blocking and pass catching Tight End for nearly 10 years in Mark Bruener. For whatever reason he ran afoul of Steelers management and he was pushed out after the 2003 season.
The Steelers had Jerame Tuman who was a solid blocking Tight End, they brought in Jay Riermersma from Buffalo as a pass catching threat and they were “set” at the position, however Riermersma was injured and never recovered. He never played again.
Heath Miller fell into our laps the next season and the rest is history! Miller was both, the blocker and the pass catcher. He finishes with 592 catches and over 6,000 yards! He also wrestled in 45 touchdowns.
Without question he is the greatest Steelers Tight End of all time!