Omar Khan spearheaded quite an unusual offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A team used to developing homegrown talent deviated from their normal practices repeatedly throughout the spring and summer. Khan took notable risks with some of his moves. However, it’s paying off so far with a Week 1 win over the New York Jets.
It was a wild, back-and-forth game that the efforts of several newcomers helped win. Having some of his new acquisitions make such a sizable impact must leave Khan feeling elated, former Steeler Ryan Clark believes.
“Omar Khan should be the happiest man in Pittsburgh right now,” Clark said on ESPN’s NFL Live on Monday. “Not only was it Aaron Rodgers, someone you waited for in free agency, but look at all the trades you made… You want to see it pay dividends, and have each of those men go out and contribute the way they did. Along with Aaron Rodgers playing the best ball we’ve seen since Green Bay. It was a huge, uncharacteristic offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Sending away a second-round pick for DK Metcalf was the Steelers’ first unprecedented move. Metcalf had a solid debut, catching 4 passes for 83 yards. However, his presence also helped take attention away from other receivers like Calvin Austin III and Ben Skowronek. Both of those receivers found it easier to get open and catch their respective touchdown passes.
The most controversial decision from Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan was to wait multiple months for Aaron Rodgers. They caught a lot of heat throughout the offseason, but should be satisfied with their choice now. Rodgers tossed four touchdown passes and no interceptions, while nearly reaching 250 passing yards in his debut. On top of that, he played impressively behind a poor performance from the offensive line, and with no running game at all. The Steelers don’t win without his efforts.
Ironically, the defense was the weaker unit on Sunday. Jalen Ramsey still made quite the entrance, though. He played every position in the secondary for the first time in his career, and did well. He came up huge on the Jets’ final drive, breaking up two passes, including this one on fourth down to ice the game.
This play has everything you want from Ramsey. He reads the play well, sticking to his first assignment down the sideline. Once he realizes the ball is going to Garrett Wilson, he quickly flies up and delivers a bone-crushing, physical hit. The most important part was that he wasn’t scared of the moment. When you trade for Ramsey, you know you’re getting a talented corner who takes it up a notch when it matters most, as he did Sunday.
There’s still a long way to go, though. For what it’s worth, several parts of Omar Khan’s roster did struggle. But overall, he’s starting to prove himself right with the larger swings he’s taken.
