Steelers love taking players out of Green Bay Packers’ backyard

The Steelers love their local products, but they also have a strange affinity for taking players out of a certain Midwest school.

The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t love the Wisconsin Badgers as much as the Philadelphia Eagles love their Georgia Bulldogs, but then again, no one could beat the Philly Dawgs.

Pittsburgh dipped its toe into Wisconsin’s class of talented defenders this past draft, taking two key Badgers on the defensive side of the ball.

First, the Steelers selected defensive lineman Keeanu Benton in the second round with the 49th overall pick; then, in the fourth round, the team took linebacker Nick Herbig at 132nd overall. With those new rookies, the Steelers now have six total Badgers on the roster, five of which are defensive players.

The most famous Badger that Pittsburgh has drafted in recent history is, of course, T.J. Watt.

Watt was actually seen attending Herbig’s Badgers pro day and helping the young linebacker get a head start on his transition to the NFL. In the back of his mind, Watt likely knew there was a reasonable possibility they would be teammates next year, and as luck would have it, they are.

Herbig, along with several other Steelers picks, was hailed as a savvy fit by pundits and analysts, and he should slide right in to a defense studded with former Wisconsin players.

Pittsburgh Steelers and Wisconsin Badgers have a longtime connection

Why do the Steelers like drafting out of Wisconsin, anyway? They like it almost as much as they like pairing siblings together (Pittsburgh also signed Herbig’s older brother as a free agent offensive lineman after the draft).

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gave a brief rundown of what makes Badgers defenders so special:

“Sometimes a place like Wisconsin is a stylistic match. I have always had a lot of respect for Jim Leonhard, their former defensive coordinator. They do a lot of similar things that we do. It makes it an easy evaluation. There is less speculation in terms of what they might be able to do in our system.”

Along with Tomlin’s not-so-secret admiration for Jim Leonhard, the Steelers assistant GM, Andy Weidl, may also factor into the long-established link between the two teams.

Former Badgers special teams coach Chris Haering apparently coached Weidl’s brothers way back in high school, and the two currently share a close relationship.

Both Haering and Leonhard are no longer coaching at Wisconsin, which could weaken the intertwined roots between the Steelers and Badgers in future drafts. Will the franchise go back to relying on its local farm system then? Wait until next April to find out.