It was the busiest offseason in franchise history. It also might have been one of the best ones in the last quarter century for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl did quite a bit of wheeling and dealing, reshaping the Steelers’ roster in rather specular fashion, upgrading a handful of key positions and improving the outlook of the Black and Gold for the 2024 season in a major way.
For NFL.com’s Nick Shook, Khan “crushed” the offseason and likely gave the Steelers the best roster the franchise has had since the 2020 season, when the Steelers went 12-4 after starting 11-0.
“General manager Omar Khan crushed the 2024 offseason, drafting starting-quality linemen at center (Zach Frazier) and right tackle (Troy Fautanu), plus a sneaky-good receiver in Roman Wilson, who should fit into the top three nicely, and an uber-athletic linebacker in Payton Wilson with sideline-to-sideline range who can be used as a blitzing missile,” Shook writes. “Khan spent free agency reinforcing both sides of the ball, picking up a handful of receivers (Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson) while trading away Diontae Johnson, then added an experienced corner in Donte Jackson, replacing an aging Patrick Peterson in the process.
“On paper, the Steelers are markedly better, and if the quarterback revamp works out, [Mike] Tomlin should have his best roster since the Steelers finished 12-4 in 2020.”
On paper, the roster looks very strong thanks to the work that Khan did this offseason.
Bringing in quarterback Russell Wilson on a one-year, $1.21 million deal in free agency was a great bit of business for a team in need of an upgrade at quarterback. He wasn’t done there, either, later trading a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 to the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields to cap a strong offseason at the most important position in sports.
Khan also made a major splash in free agency with the signing of linebacker Patrick Queen to a three-year, $41 million deal, snagging him away from the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens in the process. Queen plugs a major hole at the inside linebacker position, a position the Steelers have been searching for an answer at since Ryan Shazier’s career-ending spinal injury in 2017.
Outside of the addition of Queen, the Steelers made a surprising trade of Diontae Johnson to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson, filling a hole in one spot but opening up another without adequately filling it, even with the signings of Scotty Miller, Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins at receiver.
In the draft, Khan and Weidl did a great job for a second year, too, shoring up the offensive line with the selections of Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier in the first two rounds. They also landed wide receiver Roman Wilson in the third and then got linebacker Payton Wilson late in the third round.
The draft, at least initially, looked incredibly strong for the Steelers, much like it did coming out of the 2023 NFL Draft.
That draft haul, coupled with the offseason moves via free agency and trade, has the Steelers looking strong on paper. It might be the most talented team that head coach Mike Tomlin has had in awhile. But talent only goes so far on paper. The Steelers have to get the most out of it on the field and get back to winning playoff games and competing for Super Bowls.
Khan’s terrific offseason, one that he “crushed” should help them do just that.
