Omar Khan has been widely considered a success in his short time as the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, as his draft haul in 2023 was one of the best in the league. Offensive tackle Broderick Jones, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and nose tackle Keeanu Benton were all starters in their rookie seasons. Nick Herbig also showed promise as the No. 3 outside linebacker. The organization is also embracing analytics more under Khan compared to Kevin Colbert, who had an old-school scout background.
Khan had a solid free agency in 2023, and it’s been impressive so far in 2024. The Steelers acquired quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on cheap contracts. Pittsburgh’s QB depth chart is under contract for under $4.5 million total. The Steelers also signed former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen to three-year, $41 million deal, making him the highest-paid free agent signing in franchise history.
Colbert had some really bad draft picks late in his tenure, Kenny Pickett being one of them, and now Khan is cleaning things up and trying to set the Steelers up for postseason success.
Former Steelers cornerback and current team scout Ike Taylor recently gave some insight on how Khan operates as the general manager.
“I tell (Omar) all the time like, you’ve been waiting for this moment all your life. You sat damn near 20 years to get this opportunity to be a GM,” Taylor said on the Bleav in Steelers podcast. “And I’ve seen him live in action, leading up to the draft, the month of the draft, and the three days of the draft. I told O, you turn into a totally different person on them draft days. He’s locked in, that hawk side come out of O on draft day.
“But, that’s what I was most proud of, seeing O and the way he moved in those three days of the draft. He was on a totally different planet when it came down really between everyone sitting in that draft room, owners included. They had to understand how locked in O was and we all respected that.”
Taylor worked out players during the Miami Pro Day on Monday. Taylor, who is in his second season working as a scouting intern for the team, was also at the Miami Pro Day in 2023
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