NFL analyst thinks Steelers, GM Omar Khan ‘really set up well’ with 2023 draft class
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For his first NFL Draft as Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, Omar Khan will be provided a luxury that predecessor Kevin Colbert never enjoyed in his 23 seasons overseeing the process.
Khan and the Steelers will have three picks among the top 49 selections when the draft commences in late April.
It’s the first time since 1989, when Dick Haley — Todd’s father — was the de facto general manager that the Steelers had such favorable draft positioning.
Khan is partially responsible for the Steelers having the upcoming bounty. In addition to the Steelers missing the playoffs and settling in at the Nos. 17 and 49 selections, Khan orchestrated the trade that send wide receiver Chase Claypool to Chicago for a second-round pick that ended up being No. 32 when the Bears finished with the NFL’s worst record.
“I think they’re really set up well,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a conference call late last week.
Jeremiah pointed out that in addition to the Steelers having three of the top 49 picks, they also have the No. 80 selection, which will come in the third round. Consider that in 2020, when the Steelers didn’t have a first-round pick and selected Claypool in the second, he was their only pick among the top 50.
“When you look at the needs of offensive line, corner, maybe even some more pass rush, I think where they are positioned with their picks … those four picks, you’ve got four starters,” Jeremiah said.
The process of determining the players and positions that will be used with those draft picks will continue this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Khan and his scouts, plus coach Mike Tomlin and his staff, attended the Senior Bowl earlier this month. Khan also recently attended the combine for historically Black colleges and universities.
The NFL Combine, though, is where the analysis really ramps up as scouts, coaches and player personnel execs can poke, prod, test, measure and interview the 319 prospects who received invitations to the prestigious event.
Jeremiah, a former college quarterback and scout for three NFL organizations, believes Khan and new assistant GM Andy Weidl are up for the task.
“The good thing is, Omar is smart,” Jeremiah said. “Omar has been there. He knows what the Steelers are supposed to look like and how they’re supposed to play. I think Andy Weidl coming over there — somebody I’ve known forever — he is going to kind of bring his background with the Ravens and Eagles.
“If you look at those teams and how they’ve been built and the sustained similar to the Steelers in that it’s a line-of-scrimmage organization. I think they are philosophically aligned there.”
Like most draft analysts, Jeremiah expects the Steelers to focus on restocking the offensive and defensive lines in the early rounds of the draft. Cornerback also remains in play, he said.
The Steelers haven’t taken a defensive lineman in the first round since 2011 or the second round since 2014. On the offensive line, the last time the Steelers used either a first- or second-round pick to address that area was 2012.
In his most recent mock draft, Jeremiah predicted the Steelers would take Darnell Wright, a senior tackle from Tennessee. He called Wright a “plug-and-play right tackle.” That position, though, is manned by veteran Chuks Okorafor. It’s more likely for the Steelers to draft a tackle capable of playing the left side to protect quarterback Kenny Pickett’s blind side.
The trouble is, Jeremiah has some of the best tackles in this year’s class gone by the time the No. 17 pick arrives. Those players include Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, Ohio State’s Paris Johnson and Georgia’s Broderick Jones.
“If they ended up waiting on a tackle, I think Matthew Bergeron could be one from Syracuse that maybe they take at 32,” Jeremiah said. “There are some good interior options.”
Jeremiah mentioned guards Steve Avila from TCU and O’Cyrus Torrence from Florida as options.
“You’re not going to win the press conference, maybe not going to win the draft party by taking those two guys, but I think they’re just plug and play, solid starters immediately,” Jeremiah said. “Any combination of those three guys (including Bergeron).”
The top defensive line prospects, including edge rushers, are expected to go in the first 10 picks, which could leave the Steelers exploring cornerback as a first-round option.
Jeremiah thinks the perfect fit would be Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr., but he projected Washington grabbing the son of former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter with the No. 16 pick. He picked three corners to go in the top half of the first round, including Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon and Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez.
“If any of those guys somehow managed to get down there, those would be easy run-the-card-up (picks) for the Steelers,” Jeremiah said.
Regardless of who the Steelers take in the first round, Jeremiah thinks the organization can improve its roster.
“I think their needs marry up very well with their draft,” he said. “I don’t think it’s something where you have a new GM coming in and trying to survey the landscape and figure out, what do we need? He knows exactly what they need, and I think they have the people there to not only pick the right people, but I think they have the right coaching staff to get it out of them.”