Steelers Receive an A+ Draft Grade From PFF

With the 2023 NFL Draft now in the books, draft grades will be handed out in the masses. And universally, it’s been viewed by several media outlets that Omar Khan hit it out of the park in his first draft as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ general manager.

Pro Football Focus was so impressed that they gave the Steelers an A+ draft grade, likewise for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals. The NFL Network’s top draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah reiterated that he thought the Steelers did a marvelous job in the draft. He though they “won the night” on Day 2. “Overall I thought Pittsburgh had a really good draft. From top to bottom they got a lot of value to add to that young core,” Jeremiah tweeted.

Speaking of value, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football thinks the Steelers had the second-best draft class in regards to value, behind just the Giants. That adds up to Dane Brugler of The Athletic’s rankings, as he had Broderick Jones (15th), Joey Porter Jr. (16th), Darnell Washington (30th) and Keeanu Benton (56th) all in his top 60.

Washington could be an absolute steal at No. 93 overall. Like Brugler, Jeremiah had Washington as a top-35 player in this year’s draft.

“We were very surprised Washington was still on the board in the late third round. We thought very highly of him,” Khan said during the post-draft press conference.

There’s usually at least one questionable pick in a Steelers’ draft class, sometimes even a few. But you’re really not hearing anything negative from this year’s draft haul. The Steelers checked all the boxes and addressed all of their top needs. Khan also did some wheeling and dealing throughout the draft with some trades, as well. He also set the Steelers up great by trading Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears for a second-round pick back in October, which ended up being a 32nd overall pick, essentially another first round pick. The Steelers used that pick to get Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., a tall, physical corner that they’ve been longing for.

Khan’s aggressive approach was praised by Mike Tomlin during the Steelers’ post-draft press conference.

“The Khan Artist. I think that’s what I saw they called him. That’s a cool nickname,” Tomlin said.

Khan and assistant general manager Andy Weidl presence has certainly been felt in their first draft class as a duo. Their fingerprints are over everything.