Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League.
Today’s it’s how general manager Omar Khan has had back-to-back quality drafts, but the team still ended up on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to the level of talent on the team.
The Steelers have signed just three players from their 2019, 2020 and 2021 draft classes to contract extensions, and only two of those three will be around for the 2025 season: outside linebacker Alex Highsmith and tight end Pat Freiermuth.
While the team has quality veterans in Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, and promising younger players like Joey Porter Jr., Zach Frazier and Keeanu Benton, it’s missing a middle class thanks to several weak draft classes in a row.
Despite trying to find a shortcut, the only way out of the problem is the way they got in: by winning in the draft.
Alan breaks it down.
