Most NFL draft picks are like new cars—the moment you take them off the lot, they depreciate in value. The proof is in the pudding. In the hours leading up to the NFL roster deadline, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded offensive tackle Broderick Jones and running back Kaleb Johnson.
These are two high draft picks from the Omar Khan era. Jones was Khan's first-ever draft pick as general manager. In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Steelers traded up from pick No. 17 to the 14th overall selection to take the Georgia offensive tackle.
Then, lacking a second-round pick last year because of the DK Metcalf trade, the Steelers spent the No. 83 overall selection on Johnson, the running back out of Iowa.
Sadly, the front office has already been forced to turn around and trade these two high draft picks for pennies on the dollar.
The Steelers got just a third- and fourth-round pick swap from Dallas in addition to a 2027 sixth-round pick for Jones, while Johnson fetched a measly 2028 sixth-rounder from the Packers one year after being selected in the middle of the third round.
And just like that, the Steelers were forced to cut their losses and get table scraps in return for two players expected to be part of the future of Pittsburgh's offense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't afford any more egregious draft misses under GM Omar Khan
No general manager is going to have a spotless record. Even the best GMs around the league will strike out on high draft picks every once in a while.
But what we can't have is a GM who routinely misses on early-round picks... and the fact that Khan has already been forced to trade Broderick Jones and Kaleb Johnson is concerning.
While nobody argued with where these players fell on the consensus board at the time they were drafted, Khan apparently didn't do enough homework on either prospect. There are whispers that Jones wasn't coachable, which explains why the physically gifted offensive tackle showed almost no improvement from his senior season at Georgia through his fourth NFL offseason.
Khan also should have recognized the shortcomings of Johnson before spending a valuable third-round selection on the big running back. Johnson had obvious speed limitations, and the fact that he had almost no experience as a receiver or blocker should have been a red flag.
Though some fans are surprised the Steelers were able to get anything at all from either the Jones trade or the Johnson trade, we can't forget to point the finger at the man who spent premier draft capital on these players in the first place.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent years trying to get their roster back into Super Bowl form, but it's never going to happen if Khan keeps striking out on early-round picks.
The fact that a 25-year-old Broderick Jones and a 23-year-old Kaleb Johnson are already worth nothing more than some late-round draft capital shows just how fast their value depreciated with the Steelers.
Add us as a preferred source on Google