KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- That the Steelers didn't have the kind of season they or their fans wanted is no secret.
When you take a big step backwards from a 13-3 record to 9-6-1 and failing to make the playoffs the next season, nobody is going to be happy.
But one thing the Steelers and their fans should be pleased with is the growth shown by the team's 2017 draft class. First-round pick T.J. Watt, second-rounder JuJu Smith-Schuster and third-round selection James Conner are among the team's six representatives at the Pro Bowl here at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, something that gives hope for 2019.
"Yeah," said defensive end and team leader Cameron Heyward when I asked him that very question. "And I hope they strive for more. I know T.J. plays defense with me and I hope he has the same aspirations as me: Super Bowl and defensive player of the year. On the offensive side, those guys are pretty special themselves. You have James Conner, he gets hurt halfway through the season and he was close to 1,000 yards. And then you look at his blocking, his catching. JuJu popped on the scene so early but elevated his game into more than being a complement to a great player. You look for guys to take those steps each year."
The Steelers aren't the only team that had three Pro Bowl players from the 2017 draft class. The Bears also have three, including quarterback Mitch Trubisky, safety Eddie Jackson and running back/return man Tarik Cohen.
The difference is that Trubisky was the second player selected in that draft. He is expected to be a Pro Bowl-caliber player. So while the Bears did well selecting Jackson and Cohen in the fourth round with the 112th and 119th overall picks, it's arguable if it's as impressive as what the Steelers did. Watt was the 28th player selected in 2017, while Smith-Schuster was 62nd and Conner 105th.
Overall, just 16 players from that 2017 draft class have been selected to a Pro Bowl. That number will surely grow as that group gets more experience under its belt, but having three players from the same draft class be recognized so soon as among the best in the league at their respective positions is exceptional.
"It’s really special," Watt said of being here with his draft classmates. "That’s one thing I don’t think we all sat down and said we wanted to get to the Pro Bowl together, but it’s one of those things where we all envisioned wanting to be here. For the first three picks to be here together is really special. I think it’s only the beginning. I think they would agree with me in saying that this is only the start. We have high aspirations not only for ourselves as individuals, but as a group, too."
Watt finished among the league leaders with 13 sacks this season, while Smith-Schuster was fifth in the NFL with 1,426 receiving yards. Conner, meanwhile, was leading the AFC in rushing and rushing touchdowns before missing three of the final four games with an ankle injury. He finished tied for fifth in the conference with 973 rushing yards while his 12 rushing touchdowns tied for the conference lead.
Getting three Pro Bowl players out of one draft isn't something that happens all the time. The Steelers also did it in 2014, though that group didn't come straight through the draft. While Ryan Shazier was the team's first-round draft pick that year, fullback Roosevelt Nix and placekicker Chris Boswell were added after being released by other teams.
The Steelers also drafted three Pro Bowl players in 2010 when they took center Maurkice Pouncey in the first round and receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown in the third and sixth rounds, respectively. But Sanders didn't earn his spot in the Pro Bowl with the Steelers, going twice as a member of the Broncos after leaving in free agency.
The last time they had three players from a class they drafted earn Pro Bowl honors was in 1992, when first-round offensive tackle Leon Searcy, second-round linebacker Levon Kirkland and third-round nose tackle Joel Steed all were honored. Searcy, however, earned his Pro Bowl trip as a member of the Jaguars.
But that 1992 class helped pave the way for the Steelers' resurgence in Bill Cowher's first season as head coach after the team struggled following its Super Bowl run in the 1970s. All three were starters and key players on the team that went to the Super Bowl in 1995, losing to the Cowboys.
This current group wants similar success.
"Us young guys are getting together and having fun, just enjoying it all. I’m super tight with T.J. and JuJu, so it’s a blessing to be here with them," Conner told me.
When I asked if it's the first of many, he expressed that desire for more.
"Hopefully. Hopefully we get invited to them, but hopefully, we get Super Bowls," Conner said.
That's the goal. So while the disappointment of not even qualifying for the playoffs will linger into this offseason, the growth shown by the Steelers' 2017 draft class could help vault the team toward its goal in the near future. At the very least, it shows the talent cupboard is far from bare.
"We’ve got playmakers and we want to build on it and continue to play great for the black and gold," Conner said.
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