The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of four teams who received an A+ draft grade from Pro Football Focus in the 2024 NFL Draft. This is the second straight year that PFF has given the Steelers an A+ draft grade.
It’s still very early in his tenure, but it appears that the Steelers got an elite general manager in Omar Khan. That’s why it was somewhat surprising that Khan was ranked 21st by Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network in his NFL general manager rankings.
Joe Douglas of the New York Jets, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings, Chris Grier of the Miami Dolphins and Andrew Berry of the Cleveland Browns were some of the general managers ranked ahead of Khan.
“A 20+ year veteran of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front office, Omar Khan acted quickly when Kenny Pickett — his predecessor’s first-round QB choice — proved incapable of above-average play. Khan traded Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles while signing starter Russell Wilson and trading for upside backup Justin Fields. It was a creative solution for a unique Pittsburgh problem. Khan used the past two drafts to give the Steelers’ offense a punishing identity, adding three offensive line starters in Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, and Zach Frazier,” Robinson wrote.
Robinson didn’t note anything negative about Khan. More than anything, his low ranking is centered around a small sample size.
Along with a strong draft, Khan had an impressive free agency, a No. 2 wide receiver is still a need, however. 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.
Kevin 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.”
More must-reads: