Top 10 West Virginia Mountaineers in the First Round of the NFL Draft
By Ken Durbin
1. Dick Leftridge- 3rd to Pittsburgh Steelers, 1966
CREDIT: wvsportsfans.com
Of all the great Mountaineers, none has ever been drafted higher than Dick Leftridge, who was taken with the 3rd pick by the awful 1966 Steelers.
Pittsburgh, prior to 1970, was the laughing stock of professional football. The team could not field a winner no matter how many ways it tried to improve through drafts and trades. The Steelers thought they were finally going to improve their luck by selecting WVU’s Leftridge in 1966 to provide them with a star running back that would elevated their offense and hopefully deliver them to the post-season.
Leftridge would fail to live up to expectations to say the least.
He is widely regarded as the biggest draft bust in Steelers history. Leftridge played only four games for the Steelers, amassing 17 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns for his career.
Sad to say it, but Leftridge makes huge busts like Ryan Leaf, Rashaan Salam, and Robert Gallery look like great value picks. Picks like Leftridge’s led the Steelers to eventually elicit the help of coach Chuck Knoll who would make Steelers fans quickly forget about the atrocious draft picks of the 1960s.
Regardless, Leftridge still holds the distinction as WVU’s highest ever drafted player. With a ton of hype around Tavon Austin and Geno Smith, he might not hold onto that crown after tonight (or will he?).