Getty A major draft day move for Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers is a distinct possibility in 2023.
Entering this year’s NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their highest draft pick in nine years. But the Steelers still may not be drafting high enough to get the player they really want.
At least that’s the impression The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly received from Steelers general manager Omar Khan when he spoke to the media at the NFL annual spring meeting.
“We will be working hard to try to identify other teams’ needs and trying to figure out what they are doing,” Khan told the media. “It is our advantage to do that. We will be paying attention.”
From that comment, Kaboly concluded the Steelers have not “ruled out moving up in the draft.” Pittsburgh may have to move up the draft board to avoid falling into “no-man’s-land.”
Steelers to Move Up in NFL Draft?
Khan spent more than two decades in the Steelers organization under previous general manager Kevin Colbert. But it’s still a new era in Pittsburgh.
There were a few exceptions, but typically, under Colbert, the Steelers took the best available player. Furthermore, Kaboly noted that Colbert would also give off the impression that there would be a player the team wanted wherever the Steelers were drafting.
Khan is following a new strategy.
“This year has a new front-office regime and potentially a new philosophy,” Kaboly wrote. “Not once during new general manager Omar Khan’s 15-minute get-together with a small group of local media at the Arizona Biltmore Resort during the NFL owners’ meetings did he mention having a list of 17 players that the organization would be comfortable with taking in the first.
“Khan’s predecessor, Colbert, would’ve likely mentioned it more than a handful of times. That was his style.
“The self-proclaimed ‘aggressive’ new general manager of the Steelers not only hasn’t ruled out moving up in the draft, but he’s keeping his eyes on the teams directly in front of them in case of an approaching no-man’s-land. Now, the previous regime might have done the same, but it never broadcasted it as Khan did on Tuesday.
Kaboly also wrote that at No. 17, the Steelers “are in real danger of finding themselves in no-man’s-land” at No. 17.
In a perfect world, the Steelers will land one of the best three offensive tackles or one of the top three cornerbacks with their first-round pick. But all six of those players could be off the board before the 17th pick.
Therefore, to satisfy a need, the Steelers may have no choice but to move up the board.
Pittsburgh’s Other NFL Draft Day Option
Of course, the other possibility for the Steelers would be to trade back in the first round. It would be wise for Khan to accumulate more draft picks if there isn’t a player he loves at No. 17.
The Steelers didn’t trade up often in the first round under Colbert, but they less frequently traded back. Colbert moved up the draft board three times (2004, 2006, 2019) in the first round as Steelers general manager. He only moved back once during the first round in 2001.
When Colbert traded up, though, it was always for one player in mind (Troy Polamalu, Santonio Holmes, and Devin Bush). This year, at least publicly, Khan doesn’t have one player in mind with a possible trade up the board.
However, one thing appears certainly. Everything seems to be on the table for Khan in his first draft as Steelers general manager.