In three years as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ general manager, Omar Khan has made one principle a priority. Improve the trenches. Cliché as it sounds, that’s where football starts. In the first round of all three of his drafts, the Steelers have selected an offensive or defensive lineman, putting priority on core positions neglected in Kevin Colbert’s final years.
Pittsburgh is building its roster inside-out. Drafting and developing strong lines that make the skill positions go. A defensive line that can free up athletic linebackers like Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson, who do their best work when they can run and chase. An offensive line that can protect the quarterback and let skill-position players shine.
The players – and the plan – still must prove themselves. Broderick Jones has struggled. Troy Fautanu is largely an unknown. And Derrick Harmon was just drafted. But the Steelers’ mission is clear. Win the battle up front and everything else gets a whole lot easier.
No doubt, these decisions are influenced by assistant general manager Andy Weidl. A former college offensive lineman himself, he’s been around teams that built through the front lines. When Weidl interned for the Steelers in 1998, Pittsburgh selected LSU offensive guard Alan Faneca in the first round. His career ended in Canton.
In Baltimore, Weidl worked under Ozzie Newsome and an old school-drafting Ravens team. In 2006, Weidl’s second season, Baltimore selected NT Haloti Ngata 12th overall. He wrecked the AFC North (and Ben Roethlisberger’s nose) for a decade. In 2007, the team took OG Ben Grubbs, who started 70 games for the franchise and 125 in the league. While working in Philadelphia, the Eagles created the league’s best offensive and defensive lines, leading them to a 2024 Super Bowl title.
The way Pittsburgh’s being built now resembles the 2010-2012 stretch. Over that three-year stretch, the Steelers selected C Maurkice Pouncey, DL Cam Heyward, and OG David DeCastro in the first round. A clear effort to rebuild an offensive line that struggled to protect Roethlisberger (who himself had to change his game from less of a backyard style) and an anchor defensively to replace the “old guard” of Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith.
Returns weren’t immediate. DeCastro missed most of his rookie year. Heyward made friends with the bench for two seasons. But soon enough, Pittsburgh had built one of the league’s best and most stable offensive lines and a strong defensive core, later adding Stephon Tuitt in the second round.
The players still have to be the right picks. Coaches must develop them properly. But the idea is there. While waiting to find that franchise quarterback, Omar Khan and the Steelers are strengthening the trenches. It’s the right approach.
