Omar Khan took over the role of general manager a few offseasons ago. While many were skeptical due to him not being a bigger name, he has quickly come in and made the Steelers his own. He has made a lot of savvy moves in his short tenure with the team and overall has done an excellent job adding talent to this roster.
He is now entering his second full offseason in control, and it has been a while since we have seen a vintage Khan move. That said, with so many issues on this team, we need a few big moves to make us feel better about the state of the team. Here are five offseason moves Khan can make to remind us that he is a genius.
Steelers will be active trade partners
The Steelers were active traders before Khan took over, but it was usually just for acquiring talent right before the season began. Khan has flipped that script slightly. For starters, Khan showed an aggressive streak in the draft. He traded up for Broderick Jones and then later traded back for Darnell Washington. It had felt like years since we saw that much movement in one draft.
The Steelers also still brought in talent when it made sense. Allen Robinson was acquired for next to nothing. The team traded back in the sixth round to the seventh in order to acquire him. No, Robinson hasn’t been a statistical monster, but he has done everything that the team has asked of him.
Khan was also willing to trade talent away for resources. Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson were both buried on the depth chart so they were sent away. The willingness to move around and trade has been a healthy change of pace, and I am excited for Khan to show off his trading chops.
Steelers could ink Jaylen Warren
Jaylen Warren has been nothing but a positive for the Steelers. Undrafted and seemingly a longshot to make the team, his tough running, and surprising burst made him fly up the depth chart in Pittsburgh. In two seasons, he has gone from a complete unknown to a core piece of the offense as evidenced by him posting over 1000 total yards this season.
As an undrafted free agent, he signed a three-year deal initially with the team, but he will still be subject to the restricted free agent process once that deal expires, meaning the Steelers essentially still have two years of control over him. That kind of leverage should have Khan salivating.
While much of the talk will be on what will happen with Najee Harris in the offseason, given his workload and age, I think an extension with Warren could be a possibility. Assuming the Steelers want to ink one of their backs to have them around for the next few years, Warren could be a prime candidate for a new contract.
For starters, he has been the better overall back for this team. Yes, he and Harris work extremely well as a tandem, but Warren can bust off the big play while still running with a lot of power. While Harris can handle a big workload, something that would likely not be as suited for Warren, I still want the more productive back on my team.
His contract will likely be on the cheaper end as well. Harris will likely want to reset the running back market, or something close to that. Warren isn’t in that position. Add in his contractual control over the next two seasons and he could be swayed to take the money now even if it is slightly under market value.
I think this would be an extremely prudent move. If Harris sticks around on a new deal/on a franchise tag, you keep your talented duo for a few more years. If Harris ends up walking, you still have a capable back that can handle an uptick in work if need be. It would be a wise investment for Khan this offseason.
Steelers will remain uncommitted at quarterback
On the surface, being uncommitted at quarterback doesn’t sound like the best strategy. Ideally, you want to have faith in your guy and build around him. When your quarterback has played like Kenny Pickett has through two seasons though, it is wise to keep every option open.
It is no secret that Pickett hasn’t been good through two seasons. He misses a lot of passes, doesn’t do well in the pocket, and fails to actually throw touchdown passes. While he can suddenly transform into a nearly elite player when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter, he plays like a mess for the rest of the game.
It is so bad that when Mason Rudolph came in as an injury replacement, the team not only didn’t miss Pickett, but they got better. Rudolph earned the starting role while Pickett was relegated to backup duties after he got healthy.
It seems likely that the Steelers try and bring Rudolph back for next season. Because he replaced Pickett, that would likely signal a competition for next season. There is also a real chance this team will look for a quarterback through other means due to the struggles of Pickett.
My viewpoint on Pickett is very low, so I think Khan not being focused on just relying on him as the only option will be a smart thing. Either he rises to the occasion or doesn’t, and that should at least provide the team with some clarity at the position moving forward.
Steelers will play to the strengths of the draft
On paper, this is something that every team should be doing every season. While the draft is far from an exact science, you typically have deep and shallow positions in any given year. This should heavily impact your draft boards. For most teams, that won’t be the final say as they will also need to address their actual team needs when they are on the board.
The Steelers fell more into the latter category towards the tail end of Colbert’s tenure. It seemed like the team would go into the draft with a name or two circled for the first round no matter what the depth was like around them. The Pickett and Harris choices come to mind as such an example.
Last year, Khan did things the right way. The tackle class was heavy at the top and thinned out quickly. Cornerback was extremely deep, as were tight end and defensive line. He attacked those positions where it made sense. The Steelers really didn’t need a tight end, but they got a great value in Darnell Washington after trading back. He also ensured to land a top tackle before the talent dried up as well as a quality lineman and cornerback on day two.
More importantly, Khan built out the roster to allow this to happen. He built up weaker positions that didn’t end up having a rookie get drafted. This meant that the team didn’t have a gaping hole they needed to fill. They could instead focus on filling their remaining needs while taking advantage of the class as a whole. The board broke perfectly, but the team was built well before the draft started.
Looking ahead to this draft class, quarterback, cornerback, tackle, receiver, and the interior of the line stick out as the deepest groups. The Steelers have needs here, so I would expect the team to be ready to draft from those pools. That doesn’t mean other positions won’t be addressed, but I expect this team to once again pull from the strength of a given draft class.
Steelers will overload positions in free agency
One of the biggest things I’m hoping to see from Khan is a free-agency strategy that he implemented last year. For the longest time, Colbert’s free agency strategy was to acquire a few middling names to fill immediate holes and build through the draft. That was fine when this team was drafting well, but it wasn’t working as well later in his run.
Khan took this a step further last season. He identified the positions of weakness on the team and aggressively built out the room. The main example was linebacker, as the position lacked a clear starter. Khan signed four notable names in free agency, three of which became starters until injuries derailed the position.
Safety was built in a similar manner. While Damontae Kazee was a re-signing, he also added another veteran starting option in Keanu Neal. This tandem was successful when both were healthy. Guard was the same thing, adding a key starter in Isaac Seumalo and a versatile backup in Nate Herbig.
What was even more notable was that these positions were weaker ones in the draft. Instead of reaching for a draftable talent, Khan added as many names as he could to these rooms so they wouldn’t have to reach for rookies.
I expect the same thing to happen this year. I have the defensive line circled as a potential option, especially if Larry Ogunjobi is released. The draft doesn’t have a lot of premiere talent there this year, so Khan could add a few names to a position that has struggled in hopes of a quick turnaround. This worked well last year and I am excited to see this strategy unfold once again.
Khan has already built out a strong resume for the Steelers as their general manager, and I am excited to see what he does this offseason. These five moves in particular would strengthen his impact and remind us of just how good he has been.