Omar Khan is three for three in drafts as Steelers GM. Like any smart GM, he realizes building the trenches should always be the first priority. The question coming from impatient Steelers fans is when will these quality drafts pay dividends? That may be a question better answered by Mike Tomlin.

Finding a quality quarterback sooner rather than later may expedite those dividends. The Steelers did take a quarterback in the sixth round of this year’s draft. Will Howard, a kid built for Pittsburgh, could develop into that next quality quarterback. I think most would be shocked if that comes to fruition, but certainly stranger things have happened. Right, Mr. Brady?

More likely the Steelers will muddle through another season with either an aged and declining Aaron Rodgers or a guy wrapped in mediocrity, Mason Rudolph. Then next year, in a quarterback heavy draft held in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will make a play for their next Bradshaw or Roethlisberger.

Until they draft Drew Allar or Will Howard puts on a Superman cape or Aaron Rodgers drinks heavily from the Fountain of Ayahuasca, the Steelers will probably continue their stretch of mediocrity. Until then, I want to focus on what was done in this draft to help the Steelers.

First in Line

The Steelers were in desperate need of a quarterback, but there just wasn’t one that warranted being drafted at pick 21. No, not you Shedeur. Go back to your seat at poolside. Fortunately the Steelers didn’t make another Kenny Pickett mistake.

Instead, the Steelers smartly grabbed the best defensive lineman available in Derrick Harmon. 

 

The Steelers were gashed up the middle by good running teams over and over again. With Harmon they add, as Mike Tomlin put it, “a big man presence”. The middle of the defensive line was too small last year. Harmon fills a huge need and should immediately solidify a weakness. With star Cam Heyward about to age out of the Steelers defense, Harmon will hopefully be able to fill those shoes when the time comes.

On the Run

After a siesta in round two, I was feeling like the Steelers might reach for quarterback Jalen Milroe. Then Art Rooney II told Steelers fans that Aaron Rodgers was likely going to be a Steeler. That made me throw up in my mouth just a little, but it also took Milroe off the board. There were bigger fish to fry.

That fish was a running back. The Steelers let Najee Harris walk in the offseason, and in the third round they drafted Najee Harris, only six years younger. Oh, and with a different name, of course.

Kaleb Johnson, out of run heavy Iowa, has a similar skill set to Harris. It was a pragmatic move to get a similar back that is six years younger. The Steelers want to run the ball, and Johnson will be a nice addition to Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell.

A Modern Day Warrior

I wasn’t ecstatic about the fourth round pick. One, I thought there were bigger needs. Two, I really can’t stand the guy.

 

Sawyer is a football player in the truest sense. Tough. Nonstop motor. Will to win. Those guys rarely fail. Plus, the Steelers almost always get it right with outside linebackers. Think of Sawyer as a TJ Watt lite or maybe a clone of fellow fourth rounder Nick Herbig. I will hold my nose and hope for the best with Sawyer.

Back in Black

Maybe my favorite pick in the draft came in round five. The Steelers are married to the 3-4 defense and have not had a Casey Hampton type nose tackle since, well, Casey Hampton. Enter another Iowa Hawkeye in round five.

 

6’6” 336 pounds of Yahya Black should provide —what did Tomlin call it?— “a big man presence”. Hampton was 6’1” 325 pounds during his Steelers days, and was a professional run stopper. As mentioned with the Harmon pick, this was a sore spot for the Steelers a year ago. If Black can get up to speed with the defense, he could help early.

Lucky Lottery?

The sixth and seventh rounds are lottery tickets. Most turn out to be losers, but the hope is that you get the ticket that was the 1 out of 4.3 that are winners. Enter quarterback Will Howard,  linebacker Carson Bruener, and cornerback Donte Kent.

Howard has some redeeming qualities, but none of them are arm related. His arm is average and his route reading is somewhat worrisome. He is tough and he can move around a little. He definitely is a project. The hope would be that he could find Brock Purdy type success. More likely, Howard will be the backup quarterback in Pittsburgh for at least a few years. That isn’t a bad return for a sixth rounder.

Bruener is the son of former Steelers tight end Mark Bruener, and I think he has a real shot at making the team. He could add solid depth at linebacker and can definitely make a spot for himself on special teams. For a seventh round pick, the Steelers did well to add Bruener.

Kent is a good athlete, and again could add some spark on special teams. He will need a serious dose of coaching to become an NFL corner. For every good play he made at Central Michigan, Kent got scorched for a big play. I can’t see Kent making the team, but you never know.

All the Right Moves?

Maybe the biggest surprise of draft weekend was George Pickens remaining a Steeler. I guess the Steelers are hoping Pickens gets hit with the maturity stick before making a final decision on his future. This could explain why veteran receiver Robert Woods is being brought in, hoping some of his professionalism rubs off on Pickens.

The one thing Omar Khan had not done well was filling out the wide receiver room. He did that in the offseason by trading for and signing stud DK Metcalf.

In addition to another solid trench-heavy draft for Khan, he addressed the weak spot at wide receiver. In three short years, Khan and his sidekick Andy Weidl have shown they are in full control of the roster and know where it all should begin.

Now if they could find one of those pesky franchise quarterbacks. Maybe Cam Heyward can see some glory before he retires. Maybe TJ Watt can win a playoff game. Maybe the standard can go back to the real Steelers standard.

Two Cent Takes(NFL Draft style)

Sanders Saga

~The Shedeur Sanders saga nearly broke Mel Kiper. It is odd for a league that:

  • Hails Ray Lewis as a legend despite the fact he was involved in a murder.
  • Give guys second and third chances despite domestic charges, sexual assault, drug violations.
  • Michael Irvin is universally loved despite some questionable conduct in Dallas.
  • Allowed Eli Manning and Daddy Archie to manipulate the 2004 draft.
  • Constantly look the other way when guys get silly penalties for taunting. 

~Sometimes a little humility goes a long way. Sanders has none. With all the money he already has at his disposal, one has to wonder how hard he will work to get better. Obviously, NFL teams were clearly wondering.

~I didn’t think there was much difference between Cam Ward, who went first in the draft, and Sanders. Certainly not four and a half rounds difference.

~NFL teams will have to get used to entitled players coming to the league because all of these top guys are making serious bank in college thanks to NIL.

~My final takeaway points the finger at Daddy Deion. Deion Sanders spent several months, from the end of Colorado’s season to the draft, letting anyone who would listen that this draft would be on “their terms”. He stated that there were several teams they weren’t interested in playing for. I think NFL teams finally grew a spine and said it wasn’t worth the hassle of drafting him. It would take a weak team to ignore the noise and take a chance. Enter Celevand. The Browns draft room looked lukewarm at best when the pick of Sanders was announced.

~With the quarterback room in Cleveland consisting of Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, it is more than probable that Sanders starts at quarterback for the Browns in 2025. If he doesn’t start then maybe that is a sign the evaluators of Sanders’ talent were correct.

Other Stuff

~The Browns had a good draft, including gaining a lot of draft capital by trading the second pick to Jacksonville. The Browns did pass on Travis Hunter by essentially trading him to the Jags. I am interested to see Hunter’s impact and whether he tries to play on offense and defense.

~Abdul Carter was the best player in the draft.

~I was stunned to see new Bears coach Ben Johnson draft tight end Colston Loveland rather than Tyler Warren. I thought a Swiss Army knife like Warren would be very intriguing for a creative play caller like Johnson.

~Giants GM Joe Schoen is really pushing his luck. I just don’t see Jaxson Dart as a first round quarterback. As a matter of fact, I don’t see Dart as a starting NFL quarterback. I did like the Giants selection of Cam Skattebo.

~I much prefer the NFL Network team of Rich Eisen, Joel Klatt, Charles Davis, and the underrated Daniel Jeremiah to the ESPN crew.

~ESPN was so concerned about Shedeur Sanders that they totally short shifted Cam Ward’s big moment being the top pick in the draft. ESPN is no longer the standard in sports coverage.

~I thought the crowd was blah in Green Bay.

~Roger Goodell’s bro hugs never disappoint.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

New Steeler Derrick Harmon showed great grace in the face of  an untimely tragedy on draft night. Harmon mentioned in every interview how his mother had always been his rock. He was seen crying when his name was called at pick number 21. It turns out his mother was on life support after dealing with a litany of health issues. Harmon raced to the hospital to inform his mother he had been drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. His mother died moments later. That is a tough situation that the young man handled as well as he possibly could.

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

Penn State has been a constant shining light in the last five NFL drafts.

35 Nittany Lions have been selected in the past five drafts. Seven of those were selected in the first round. Six more were second round selections, while four were third rounders. A total of 47 Penn State players populate NFL rosters, many as starters.

All of that talent and zero national championships. One playoff appearance with two gifted wins in the first two rounds.

Why has Penn State not capitalized on all of this talent?

Could it be?

 

That is head coach James Franklin engaging a heckling fan…again. He goes so far as to bring someone else in to hear his complaints about the fan. Apparently the fan was calling Franklin a fraud. This type of scene happens over and over with Franklin. I am not condoning that type of fan behavior, especially at a spring game, but if you are making the money Franklin makes and head one of the most prominent football brands in America then maybe ignoring the fans would be a better option.

I sometimes wonder if Franklin is emotionally stable enough to finish the job at Penn State.

Don’t forget, he will have the potential number one draft pick in 2026 quarterbacking his team this year. If not now, when?

Franklin seems to want extra credit for taking over a program that was going through tough times.

 

His shoulder must get sore patting himself on the back. And for the record, it was Bill O’Brien that took over the Penn State program at a time of trauma. Sure, Franklin still had to pick up some pieces along the way but the heavy lifting was done by O’Brien.

Franklin certainly deserves credit for the consistency he mentions. He almost always wins the games he should, which isn’t a slam dunk for a lot of coaches. On the flip side, he rarely wins games he “needs” to win. Those are the games fans expect to be at least 50/50 or 40/60 on the win scale. With all of those high NFL picks you should be able to win some of those tough games.

Fans in Happy Valley are ready for more. 

 

Franklin should maybe check his ego. He wants people to pat him on the back. He likes to be seen on the sidelines. He avoids any negative publicity in childish, petty ways. Clearly he can’t walk away from complaining fans.

I never saw Nick Saban yell at heckling fans. Kirby Smart doesn’t get involved in such things. Even Lincoln Riley —who I have been very critical of— doesn’t engage with hecklers, and over the last two years he had plenty of chances.

It is a Franklin flaw, but it appears to be who he is. He doesn’t want rejection from a fan base that he clearly thinks should be treating him like royalty.

35 players in the past five NFL drafts, half of which were top three round picks. A potential number one pick in next year’s draft. Talent acquisition clearly is not a problem.

If Big Game James wants that red carpet rolled out, he needs to bury his ego and take all that talent to a national championship.

Or at least beat Ohio State for goodness sake.

Just my two cents…