For decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers built their identity on a draft-and-develop philosophy, but in recent years that formula has unraveled. First with Kevin Colbert’s string of draft misses, and now with Omar Khan’s promising picks stalling after encouraging rookie campaigns.
It’s too early to come to conclusions after Week 1, but multiple young Steelers fell flat against the New York Jets on Sunday.
“On the player side, which kind of turns into the coaching side, there’s a lot to be desired. A lot,” Doug Whaley said Wednesday via 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show. “I’ve been playing this drum for probably since after the season—player development. Keeanu Benton’s first year, ‘Oh we got something.’ Nothing since. Joey Porter [Jr.] first year, ‘We got something!’ Has regressed or even plateaued. Hasn’t gotten better. There’s nobody that we are talking about that’s like ‘Wow, man. I love that development.'”
Broderick Jones is another obvious example of the Steelers’ player development shortcomings. Their run game came alive in his rookie season after they inserted him at right tackle. He’s been one of the worst starting tackles in the league ever since.
Payton Wilson also had a shaky 2025 debut with sky-high ambitions as one of the top young linebackers in the league. He was hardly noticeable as the Steelers were run all over.
Of course, not every young Steeler is stuck in neutral. For all the frustrating regressions, there are also players who are showing progress.
Let’s not forget about Calvin Austin III, who looks primed to have another career-best season as the Steelers No. 2 WR. And what about Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick holding down the middle of the offensive line? Darnell Washington and Nick Herbig are two other examples of players who have only gotten better with time.
The story of the 2025 season has barely begun, so it’s not worth drawing any hard conclusions about players like Benton or Porter. Jones is one of the only players who is starting to feel like a lost cause.
The lack of drafted and developed players on the roster can mostly be attributed to Colbert’s poor drafting over his final five seasons. But it’s still too early to make any conclusions on Khan’s first three draft classes.
The truth is somewhere in the middle. The Steelers’ draft-and-develop pipeline isn’t entirely broken, but it’s no longer the engine of sustained success it once was. Whether Khan’s classes ultimately buck that trend will depend less on draft-day wins and more on whether the coaching staff can turn promise into progress.
