Cleveland Browns: 20 best draft day steals of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 16. 837. DT. Iowa State, 2008. AhtybaRubin. player
Cleveland Browns best NFL Draft steals of all time: 16. Ahtyba Rubin
A former junior college transfer, Ahtyba Rubin has always had to fight for everything in his career. After going the JUCO route, Rubin went to Iowa State — which he picked over TCU — and proved to be a very good nose tackle for the Cyclones.
Ahead of the 2008 NFL Draft, there were many that thought he should be taken either in the third or fourth round. That ended up not being the case, as Rubin lasted until pick No. 190 in the sixth round.
He then joined the Browns and started his career as a backup. Rubin got in on 11 games that season and finished with just 11 tackles. He continued to push through and found himself involved much more as a sophomore. In that second season with the Browns, Rubin had 38 tackles, while playing every game and starting in five of them.
The 315-pound space-eater was a full-time starter by year three and remained in that role for the next five seasons with the Browns. His best stretch of football came in 2010 and 2011 when he had 82 tackles in each of those campaigns, and added five sacks in 2011.
His numbers did start to decline after those two years, but the truth is he was overly productive for a nose tackle in that stretch and the remainder of his time in Cleveland was still very productive.
In seven seasons, the former late-round pick racked up 338 tackles, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one interception. He left the team after the 2014 season and signed with the Seattle Seahawks.
Rubin remained a starter with them for the next two years before being released. He spent 2017 with the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons but never started a game at either place. Rubin did still try to play in 2018 and signed with the Oakland Raiders but spent the season on IR with a torn biceps muscle.