The Pittsburgh Steelers front office has a chance to make a mark in the upcoming NFL Draft starting on Thursday. Kevin Colbert finished his tenure as the team's General Manager after last year's draft. Now Omar Khan is at the helm after serving 20+ years with the organization. Khan, along with Assistant General Manager, Andy Weidl, will have an opportunity to bring in a good first draft class to start hopefully a long tenure together.
In an article written by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the reporter mentions that Khan's role will be judged on how well he and Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin work together on draft day.
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Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Steelers general manager, Omar Khan speaks to the media.
Dulac might be onto something. Job turnover isn't necessarily something the Steelers experience much at all. Stability is one thing Pittsburgh prides itself on and has for years. Especially with their front office and coaching staff. It's unreal to think that they've had only three head coaches since 1969.
Now we're not talking about Jimi Hendrix here, but for context, the Houston Texans have fired three coaches since 2018. But, at least Khan has been in the building for quite some time and his relationship with Tomlin has probably gotten a lot closer in the last year. Khan spoke on the process at the NFL Owner meetings in March.
"I'd say for the most part, the process is very similar to the way we did before, but just having fresh ideas," Khan said. "Just hearing how they did certain things. We've incorporated some of those ideas, without getting into detail."
The Steelers are not a team that operates sporadically so a big adjustment probably isn't something that Khan or Tomlin had to endure. This has probably been an ongoing conversation since the 2022 season ended. The new era of the front office has already made some waves so far in the 2023 offseason, making moves and trades to give themselves a better vision for the upcoming draft.
Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has always been praised for his ability to connect with players.
The black and gold have an opportunity to make a splash with their picks, even if it is an offensive and a defensive lineman in the first two picks. Some other new faces in the building include Sheldon White, who is the Director of Pro Scouting, and Mark Sadowski, who was once the Director of Scouting for the Chicago Bears. The Steelers also promoted Cole Marcoux to Director of Football Administration.
How Do You Think The Steelers Front Office Will Mesh In The Upcoming NFL Draft?
The Steelers have some big choices to make. Having two picks in the first 32 selections is rarified air for Pittsburgh. This year is unique because the Miami Dolphins forfeited their first-round selection after they committed tampering violations. Regardless, the last time the Steelers had two selections that early was in 1989.
The organization drafted running back Tim Worley with the seventh pick and then selected offensive guard, Tom Ricketts with the 24th pick. Essentially, Pittsburgh possesses two first-rounders, if you're being technical about it in terms of total selections. After selecting Kenny Pickett in 2022 during the first round, it will be interesting to see where the Steelers go with these choices.
Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Steelers' Kenny Pickett (#8) runs for a first down in Pittsburgh, PA.
This means the Steelers should expect to take two quality players who will hopefully start for the team. That is the expected value in the first few rounds: a quality starting player who will have an impact. For the first time since 2000, they'll have a new General Manager leading the draft room.
That was the year the franchise selected wide receiver, Plaxico Burress. All Steelers fans are ready to hear their next selections. So tell us what you think. How do you think the new Steelers front office will coexist?
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