First-year Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan made a splash in his first NFL Draft. Khan moved both up and down in the draft and was able to come out of it with what many pundits thought was one of the best draft classes this year. Compared to former general manager Kevin Colbert, Khan was certainly aggressive, but he doesn’t see himself that way.
Instead, Khan called himself “methodical.” Today, he joined 102.5 DVE and talked about the draft and how he is doing everything in his power to win a Super Bowl.
“I don’t consider myself aggressive,” Khan said. “I mean, I consider myself methodical, I guess, but at the end of the day every one of these moves is targeted with the intent of trying to win a Super Bowl. That’s what I got this job for…and every move that I make is with that in mind.”
Khan made two big moves in this year’s draft. The first was trading up for Georgia tackle Broderick Jones, who will be tasked with protecting quarterback Kenny Pickett’s blind side and helping running back Najee Harris run wild. The second was trading back in the third round to recoup a fourth-round pic and still managing to grab Darnell Washington, who is considered one of the best tight ends in the draft class.
In comparison to Kevin Colbert, Khan is certainly aggressive. But taking a step back and not comparing those two is Khan really that aggressive? Khan did trade up, but he also traded back and recouped his loss of a fourth rounder. He left the draft with the same amount of picks he entered it with.
The big thing that Khan did really well with his picks was getting value out of the draft class. Jones in the first round was not a reach at all as he would probably have been gone by pick 17, and Washington was projected as an early second rounder. In addition Khan was able to draft Joey Porter Jr. in the second round after having a first-round grade on him, and in the seventh round he drafted Cory Trice Jr. who Matt Miller said was the best value pick of the round.
Maybe Khan is right that he is more methodical than aggressive. He didn’t mortgage the future by trading future draft picks by trading up, yet he still managed to grab what seems like one of the best classes in the draft. Obviously we will gave to wait to see how well this draft class turns out. But even if it isn’t all that it is made out to be it isn’t like the team won’t have draft picks in the coming years to make up for it.
Khan’s methodical ways are certainly different than Colbert’s but maybe it will help end the Steelers decade plus long drought without a Super Bowl.
