The 1970 draft, the Steelers and the Falcons

On the eve of the 1969 NFL draft, the Steelers heeded Don Shula's and others' recommendations and hired Chuck Noll as head coach.

"Noll arrived in Pittsburgh, and we went right to our draft boards," Art Rooney Jr., the Steelers' director of player personnel and vice president from 1964 through 1986, says in an interview with Tom Danyluk published in Vol. 28, No. 3 of The Coffin Corner, The Official Newsletter-Magazine of the Professional Football Researchers Association. "We reviewed every single guy on there. All that was listed was the player's name, rating, height, weight, speed and school."

Rooney compared thoughts with Noll, and "there was immediate agreement over whom to take in the first round."

Joe Greene.

After a 1-13 season, Pittsburgh was at the top of the 1970 draft and fielded a variety of trade offers for the choice. Noll was willing to listen, Rooney says, as was his dad, the team's owner. One of the most compelling proposals was a package of players and draft picks from Atlanta, but the Falcons, Danyluk reported, were unwilling to include defensive end Claude Humphrey, whom the Steelers hoped to play next to Greene.

Instead, the Steelers picked Terry Bradshaw. Selecting 12th in the first round, the Falcons chose John Small, a linebacker from the Citadel whom Coach Norm Van Brocklin converted to defensive tackle. Small lasted three seasons in Atlanta, then finished his career in 1974 after playing 14 games over two seasons with the Detroit Lions.