One of the hallmarks of Omar Khan’s tenure as general manager has been extremely strong and calculated draft classes. While not every pick has been a hit, he has found value all over the draft, and fans have been generally pleased with his thought process with picks.
That all came to a screeching end last night during the draft.
As per usual, the Steelers sat patiently and waited for their pick to fall into their lap. In the past, that strategy had worked perfectly. This year, we got a rude awakening.
It looked good when the Panthers got on the clock. Monroe Freeling and Makai Lemon were on the board, meaning the odds of landing one of their top two prospects were well within reach.
Freeling went to the Panthers, and the Eagles traded up for Lemon. Worse yet, the Steelers were on the phone with Lemon, reportedly telling him he was going to be their pick.
For once, the board didn’t break perfectly for Khan, and as a result, it feels like the team scrambled. It should be a wake-up call for the GM and team.
Omar Khan’s true nature was exposed to Pittsburgh Steelers fans in the draft
While not common, teams will sometimes move up a spot to secure the player that they want. Dallas did that earlier in the round, moving up one spot to secure Caleb Downs.
Once the Panthers were on the clock, Pittsburgh should have been on the phone with the Cowboys. They were clearly willing to move back, as evidenced by their divisional trade with the Eagles.
It feels like the team was confident that, as had been the case previously, the draft would fall perfectly into their laps. Khan’s first draft saw them land names like Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, and Darnell Washington without requiring a single trade up. Even last year, many thought Derrick Harmon wouldn’t make it to the Steelers' pick, but he fell right into their laps.
Pittsburgh has ample picks; a slightly aggressive move up would have made too much sense. Instead, Khan sat on his hands and watched the draft unravel right before his eyes.
This isn’t a critique of the Max Iheanachor pick either. I see the logic and support taking players in the trenches, but it felt like a sharp pivot. Khan claims they could have moved down, and it feels shocking that they didn’t at least do so after losing their top remaining prospect, Lemon.
There is still a lot of draft left for the Steelers and a lot of picks at their disposal. Hopefully, the Steelers learned from this both for the rest of this draft and the future. Khan had a chance to secure their guy, but his passive nature ultimately cost the team.
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