Steelers GM expects to field calls for top pick of the second round in the NFL Draft

The Steelers haven't been an overly aggressive team when it comes to making trades during the NFL Draft. In the past, Kevin Colbert was almost always okay with standing pat and taking the player they like best from their board.

While the Steelers have traded up in the draft a number of times during Colbert's reign, trading back almost seemed to be out of the question. Now, it seems that Pittsburgh could be open to doing something they have rarely done in their history.

On Tuesday, new general manager, Omar Khan, spoke with the media during his scheduled press conference at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. One reporter brought up the fact that the Steelers own the top pick of the second round and asked if they would be fielding offers for that selection. Khan seemed to be very open to the idea.

" I would expect that's definitely going to happen," Khan replied to the question during the press conference.

Khan didn't expand on how aggressively he would look to trade out of that pick in an effort to add more draft capital, but he certainly didn't shut it down as a possibility. However, this may have been a question better suited for assistant GM Andy Weidl, as Khan expressed that Weidl will be in charge of constructing the team's draft board.

Steelers should consider trading back in the NFL Draft

Over the past few years, Weidl was largely in charge of the draft process for the Eagles and was in favor of moving back to stockpile additional picks. In 2020 and 2021 combined, Philadelphia made a whopping 19 total selections at the NFL Draft (though some of these came from compensatory picks). Even now, the Eagles are set up with two first-round picks in 2023 thanks to Weidl trades.

The philosophy -- and one that has panned out for teams in the past -- is to get as many throws at the dart board as possible. By doing so, not only are you filling holes, but you can take chances on high-upside players and even find a diamond in the rough every once in a while.

Thanks to fleecing the Bears in the Chase Claypool trade, the Steelers own the 33rd selection in the NFL Draft. The Bears' initial second-round pick is the top choice of day two in the NFL Draft. This means that teams will have nearly a full day to call Pittsburgh's front office with their best offer to move up.

Again, this doesn't mean that the Steelers are trading out of this pick, but perhaps there's a better chance of doing so than we have seen in a very long time. If Andy Weidl has his say and Omar Khan is open to it, don't be shocked if Pittsburgh moves back in the draft in the first season under how front office management.