Steelers Great Jerome Bettis Could Not Have Been More Wrong About 2 Draft Prospects From His Day

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a very busy part of the offseason. Not only do they have to scout and figure out every little detail about hundreds of prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft, but there is also a ton of noise about many of these incoming rookies. The team has to figure out which noise it needs to shut out and which it needs to take into consideration. There are all kinds of rumors flying around, whether it's true or false. Even then, the top few plans may all get ruined by the time Draft Day finally rolls around. 

Obviously, that has been a factor for decades, as things always go differently from what people expect. While making a recent appearance on Chipped Ham and Football, Steelers legend Jerome Bettis was asked about a shocking prospect that did extremely well during his playing days.

"Hines Ward. Two seconds, Hines Ward," Bettis said. "He came in and you thought, 'Okay, he was a wide receiver, not super tall, not super fast.' He looked like a guy that was going to be here and was going to be at training camp, and you may never see him again, one of those. But once Hines hit the field, you thought, 'Oh, this guy's tough. He showed it in special teams early, and then he caught everything they threw at him... He went from, 'This guy might have an opportunity to play,' to 'This guy's a Hall of Fame-type player.'"

For many years now, Hines Ward has been on the Hall of Fame ballot, which Bettis clearly did not think was possible upon first glance. However, it clearly did not take long for him to change his tune about this seemingly short and slow wideout. He would go on to have a great 14-year career highlighted by winning Super Bowl XL MVP, while getting a second championship in the process. 

Later, Bettis was also asked which prospect he thought would be great during his time, but never panned out. Once again, he did not hesitate on his answer.

"We had a safety, his name was [Scott] Shields," Bettis said. "You see him, he was 6'3", 6'4". You were like, 'Woah, this guy's got it all.' It just didn't materialize for him. I don't know if it was the defense we ran -- it didn't really fit his style. It has to be a marriage: two sides to it. It's not just the player, 'Oh, he was terrible.' It's not that he was terrible; it's just that he didn't fit in our defense."

Scott Shields was a second-round pick in 1999, and he looked good in his rookie year. He appeared in all 16 games and racked up four interceptions, six passes defended, and 43 tackles. The wheels completely fell off from there, as he only played 10 more games in the NFL due to injury and inconsistency. He made a couple of practice squads after his two-year tenure in Pittsburgh before hanging up the cleats.

Steelers Can't Be Afraid Of Missing On Guys Like Shields

As much as teams want to avoid that, draft misses do happen all the time. Sometimes, it's worth the risk to pick up a physical freak and see how well he can develop at the NFL level. They call it "boom or bust" for a reason, but taking some of those options is better than just playing it safe with low-ceiling guys, especially after the first round. That's how the Steelers got guys like Darnell Washington and Nick Herbig. 

What do you think about Bettis' stories on Ward and Shields having completely opposite careers of what he thought they would be? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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