It's difficult to imagine Omar Khan's first draft as the Steelers' general manager going any better.
Typically teams have to go into the draft with an abysmal record the previous season in order to come away with the haul the Steelers did in the 2023 NFL Draft. But, Khan's body of work since he was promoted further solidifies the type of GM he is and will be for this franchise.
"Yeah, what did they call him, the 'Khan artist?'" Mike Tomlin said Saturday night at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "I saw that. That's pretty good. That's a cool nickname."
Tomlin's been right alongside Khan for the past year, getting an up-close look at how he would guide the Steelers after Kevin Colbert's long, successful run atop football operations. From locking up Minkah Fitzpatrick and Diontae Johnson to long-term contracts, to acquiring the 32nd overall pick in the Chase Claypool trade, to arguably the most active free-agency period in franchise history, and now to a draft that checked nearly every box regarding need and talent, Khan's identity as a GM has forged the Steelers forward far quicker than anyone could have dreamed once Ben Roethlisberger hung up his cleats.
The one adjective that's been tossed around more than any other to describe Khan since he became the Steelers' GM has been, "aggressive." Despite any attempt by Khan to shed that title, it's clear what the Steelers have in their first-year GM.
"He's aggressive," Tomlin laughed.
That aggressiveness contributed to the Steelers coming away with a draft class that has the potential to be great. Khan wasted no time, trading up three spots in the first round to select Broderick Jones, further reinforcing the tackle position with one of the top players at his position in the class.
But, Khan proved throughout his first draft that he isn't aggressive for the sake of it. Shrewdly assertive is a better way to describe what Khan did throughout the three-day event. When teams came calling for the 32nd overall pick, Khan wasn't dead set on having to make any sort of deal. Dealmakers like making deals, but the good ones know when not to make them. And, with a player such as Joey Porter Jr. still available, Khan opted to go with a cornerback that many thought would be selected in the first round.
"We listened," Khan said. "There were definitely opportunities there, and after we evaluated everything, we just felt really good about the opportunity to take Joey Porter, Jr., so it worked out that way. ... You go through different scenarios and mocks, and we had him graded obviously higher than that, and we expected him to go higher than that, but we're very fortunate. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the opportunity to pick him at 32."
"Fortunate" was the theme for the rest of the Steelers' draft. Keeanu Benton was the Steelers' selection at 49th overall, and was probably the most appropriately ranked among all of the Steelers' picks outside of the first round. Benton is a mauler on the interior of the defensive line, and impressive showings throughout the entire draft process elevated his stock from a third-round projection to a second-round pick.
But, Khan knew the Steelers needed to get back into the fourth round of the draft. In order to trade up to get Jones in the first round, it cost the team their fourth-round pick at 120th overall. That meant once the Steelers made their third-round selection at 80th overall, they were going to have to wait all the way until 241st to make their next pick.
"It was an opportunity. We were sitting there in the third round, we just -- when the call came about trading back, we just evaluated it," Khan said. 'We had a good feel for how many players were left that we'd be interested in, and got the top guy actually on that list. He was still sitting there. And the opportunity to pick up a fourth, which we had lost, was going to be a long wait from today if we didn't have an extra pick."
The Steelers turned around and got Darnell Washington at 93rd overall, who was one of the highest-graded tight ends in a very deep position group, and used that fourth-round pick from the trade-down to select Nick Herbig, who was a very productive edge rusher out of Wisconsin. Both players were taken well after they were projected, and Khan and the Steelers capitalized.
They did the same when Cory Trice Jr., a long and physical cornerback out of Purdue, was still available with that 241st pick. Trice was ranked 77th on Pro Football Focus' big board, and NFL.com had him projected to go in the fourth or fifth round. The Steelers had no problem pouncing on Trice's upside and selected him.
Of course, players don't fall for no reason. There is risk with some of these players. There is concern over Porter's lack of ball production in college (one career interception at Penn State). At least a dozen teams passed on Washington over red flags regarding a knee issue (Washington claims any concern revolved around inflamed cartilage). At 6-2 and 240 pounds, Herbig is undersized as an edge rusher and some teams aren't sure what his role will be in the NFL. Trice has a significant injury history, including a broken ankle in high school and a torn ACL in 2021.
But, the Steelers have a process for all of these things. Some of the concerns come down to scouting and how certain players can bridge the gap between college and the NFL, like in Porter's or Herbig's case. And, of course, the Steelers have a process on the medical side. Remember when George Pickens fell to the second round last year over concerns regarding a knee injury? So far, that one's looked like a steal for Pittsburgh.
Khan knows all of these things. As a member of the Steelers' front office for more than two decades now, Khan's been through all of this. That's why nothing really surprised Tomlin along the way, despite this being their first time going through the draft process as head coach and GM.
"It's normal for us. We've worked together for a long time," Tomlin said. "I don't know that we hide behind roles and titles. People have opinions. We've got work to do. We've got information to gain. The process was very similar to how it's been in the past. I don't know that I've looked at him in a different light because of the position. I don't know that he looks at himself in a different light. I just think sometimes titles and things of that nature are overblown. We've worked together for a long time, and we had some fun this weekend."
But now, Khan's way of doing business has more of a direct impact on each and every decision. As GM, he's part of the three-headed braintrust alongside Tomlin and Art Rooney II that ultimately decides the direction of the franchise. And, taking stock in what Khan has done as we sit less than a month away from the one-year anniversary of his hiring as GM, it's not much of a stretch to say this is a different era of Steelers football. Khan's fingerprints are all over what the Steelers are doing.
What makes it even better is that Khan is having the time of his life doing it.
"It was awesome. I think the journey of getting here has been great, since I got the job to now. It's been pretty special," Khan said recapping his first draft as GM. "I have a great group of people that I did this with, and they worked really hard for this organization. We have a really strong group of people. It's just exciting. I don't know if it's hit me completely yet."
It's easy to love or hate a draft class right away, and recency bias is a real thing when it comes to these type of events. The truth is we won't know how the 2023 class pans out for a few years. But, Khan, Tomlin, Rooney and everyone else in the front office set themselves up with a crop of players that have the potential to expedite the Steelers' journey back to competing for a Lombardi Trophy.
The Steelers have done all of their homework and made decisions based on the hard work from a lot of people on South Water Street. But, the journey doesn't stop there.
"When you do a good job of that, it creates weekends like we experienced," Tomlin said. "We feel good, but obviously the quality of this weekend will be played out over the next three to five years in the careers of these people. We've got some responsibility in terms of that work as well. They're the product, we're the source. It's our job to help them grow and develop, and we're excited about getting started with that."