Omar Khan says he’s a lucky man. Not just for living out the dream of running an NFL team but to do it during two strong draft classes. Promoted to general manager in May 2022, Khan didn’t oversee his first draft until last year. Widely praised for the picks he made, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie class was impactful and key to the their 10-7 finish. For an encore performance, Khan thinks the 2024 group is pretty good, too.
Sitting down with Steelers.com’s Max Starks, Khan was asked to evaluate the strength of this current crop.
“The running backs is a good group,” Khan told Starks. “The inside linebackers. There’s some good edge rushers. It’s a good group and I’m really looking forward getting to continue to get to know these guys.”
Running back lacks traditional star power at the top, there is no Bijan Robinson this year, and it’s plausible no back is taken in the top two rounds. But there is middle-round depth and Pittsburgh clearly isn’t the market to use an early-round pick on the position. Though Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are cemented at the top, there’s no frontrunner for the RB3 spot. It’s possible Pittsburgh uses a late-round pick or certainly a handful of undrafted free agents to create competition for the spot.
Inside linebacker appears to be of real concern for the Steelers. Thursday, Khan admitted that he doesn’t know when LB Cole Holcomb will return after suffering a gruesome knee injury in Week 9. With Kwon Alexander a pending free agent dealing with an Achilles tear, it’s a position the Steelers say they will address. The off-ball linebackers ran well during their Thursday workout, led by NC State’s Payton Wilson’s 4.43. Pittsburgh formally interviewed at least four top inside linebacker prospects, including Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper and Michigan’s Junior Colson. If not added in free agency, the Steelers could use a Day 2 pick on the position.
While Khan highlighted those two spots, he said the draft class as a whole is impressive.
“This is really a good group of players here this year. Last year was outstanding. I’m fortunate, my second draft, and it’s another really good group of players,” he said.
Pittsburgh holds the 20th pick in April’s draft. We’ll see if the Steelers keep the pick or if Khan trades it as he did in 2023.
