Steelers fan are well aware of Troy Edwards. The club drafted the Louisiana Tech wide receiver with the 13th-overall pick in the 1999 draft and after a solid rookie season, he spent the rest of his career cementing his name among other wide receiver draft busts. After a 61-catch, 714-yard, 5-touchdown rookie showing, Edwards only managed 54 receptions for 451 yards and two touchdowns over the next three seasons. And then, the Steelers released him right before the 2002 season.
I understand why the team drafted him -- in the previous year, no player caught more than 66 passes, or gained more than 815 yards (though I suspect Kordell Stewart might've had something to do with that) -- but Edwards never really seemed like a good fit in Pittsburgh. And then, with the 10th pick in the 2000 draft, the Steelers took Plaxico Burress, who had more success than Edwards, but wasn't re-signed after his rookie contract expired.
Despite the misstep -- and every team has such stories -- I didn't know Edwards had such a prolific college career until reading Eric Moneypenny's Top Ten Wide Receiver Draft Busts article:
[T]he 5-foot-9, 195-pound receiver put on one of the greatest single-game offensive performances you'll ever see in college, catching 21 balls for 405 yards against Nebraska in 1998 in the season opener, on his way to setting a ton of NCAA and school records that season.Holy crap ... 405 yards in one game. Say what you want about Edwards the pro -- and if you're a Steelers fan, I'm sure you already have -- but I can see how 21 catches for more than 400 yards against good Nebraska team might make some NFL general managers wide-eyed. Too bad Matt Millen wasn't working in Detroit at the time -- he could've saved Pittsburgh the trouble. In case you're wondering, Edwards is still playing professional football.
