Steelers brass Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan prepared, ready to tackle deep NFL Draft class
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Since the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ended Jan. 8, Omar Khan has plotted his first offseason as general manager with an eye toward the NFL Draft, the lifeblood of the organization’s team-building process.
He attended the Hula Bowl, Senior Bowl, the HBCU and NFL combines. He hit the road for more than a dozen pro days, then returned to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for 30 official visits with prospects. He has conducted Zoom calls with players, a practice that continues.
Preparation won’t be an issue for Khan or coach Mike Tomlin when the first round of the draft takes place Thursday night with the Steelers holding the No. 17 overall selection.
“I feel ready,” Khan said Monday at a pre-draft news conference. “I wish the draft, I wish I was leaving here to get ready to make our picks. Exciting, I think we’re ready.”
So does Tomlin, who said circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic have produced an unprecedented amount of information on this draft class.
“We have turned some stones over,” Tomlin said. “I’m telling you, we’ve touched more guys in this process than any that I’ve been a part of. It’s not anything unusual we’re doing. It’s utilizing the covid-related tools with getting back to business, and it’s provided a broader net for us.”
Those tools include easier access to medical records and a chance to have videoconferencing interviews with prospects the Steelers brass didn’t meet face-to-face in Indianapolis at the combine, on the pro-day circuit or at the South Side practice complex.
“We didn’t get lazy because of covid,” Tomlin said. “We got back out there, we hit the pro days, we took every opportunity that was at our disposal to beat the bushes and engage with these guys. There is still work ahead of us … but with the work we’ve done, I feel good about the position we’re in right now in terms of the information we have.”
Another byproduct from the pandemic is the number of older players in this draft class — fifth-year seniors and those who took advantage of an extra year of eligibility to spend six seasons on campus.
“That is one of the reasons this class is so deep,” Tomlin said.
That depth dovetails with Khan’s first draft. He and Tomlin outlined the offensive and defensive lines, cornerbacks, outside linebackers, tight ends and wide receivers as being particularly deep.
So is quarterback, but after the Steelers selected Kenny Pickett with the No. 20 overall selection last year, “we’re not taking a quarterback,” Khan said.
That is perhaps the only position the Steelers have ruled out taking at No. 17. Khan said he has received the usual number of calls asking what it would take for the Steelers to move up or down, and by the time Thursday night arrives, he said he will have spoken to all 31 opposing GMs.
“We’re not opposed to moving up in an effort to pinpoint someone that might be special,” Tomlin said, “but we truly believe there is great depth in this draft. We’re ready and comfortable for whatever.”
The Steelers also expect to field calls about the opening pick of the second round, No. 32, which they acquired in a midseason trade with Chicago. It is one of two second-round selections the Steelers hold, No. 49 being the other.
“The thing that we’re the least familiar with is the amount of calls we will be or could be getting,” for the No. 32 pick, Tomlin said. “That’s how we spend our time, talking about how we organize and get prepared for receiving the amount of interest that pick can have. That’s good and is an exciting possibility for us.”
In the front office transformation that occurred when Khan was promoted to replace longtime GM Kevin Colbert, the Steelers added Mt. Lebanon native Andy Weidl as assistant GM. Other new faces in the draft room are director of pro scouting Sheldon White and Dan Colbert, who was promoted to director of college scouting.
For the first time in 17 years, Tomlin had a new traveling partner on the pro-day circuit in Khan.
“The cool thing is we haven’t been running away from the differences of transition,” Tomlin said. “We’ve been open to it.”