Omar Khan’s greatest ability as general manager has suddenly become a fatal flaw that is hurting the Steelers every week
The Steelers’ offense is suffering when it didn’t have to.
There was a time not so long ago when Omar Khan developed the moniker the Khan artist for his ability to win trades. The famous Chase Claypool trade that netted the Steelers Joey Porter Jr., last year’s trade that saw Donte Jackson have a career year in the black and gold in exchange for Diontae Johnson, and so on and so forth.
But more than a few times now, that same energy that has won negotiations has left the Steelers standing at the altar. Think back to the Brandon Aiyuk saga. Or the fact that Khan gave George Pickens away for a third-round pick, with no backup plan in place, only to watch Pickens flourish on the Dallas Cowboys.
Yet, all of those WR No.2 questions could have gone away if the Steelers had made a move before last Tuesday’s trade deadline. Well, they didn’t, and they continue to suffer the consequences.
Omar Khan’s quest for winning the deal is starting to lose the Steelers games
This should be prefaced by saying that Khan has knocked the draft out of the park, and he’s done a good job of acquiring talent in the free agent market. The problem is that he’s overlooked the WR2 position since he sent Johnson packing, and it’s officially starting to cost the Steelers games.
Sunday night against the Chargers was a key example. Sure, Aaron Rodgers was off, and he felt a lot of pressure. But when the pass catchers not named DK Metcalf are open, they’re dropping the ball (Calvin Austin III). The rest of the time, they were locked up tighter than Area 51.
“I was just a little bit off,” said Rodgers after the Chargers game via the Steelers YouTube channel. “You know, [I] missed DK early, [that] could have been big play. Little high to Jonnu. Oh yeah, we didn’t run the ball super effectively in the first half. I missed, obviously, some throws for sure, and then, yeah, we weren’t getting guys open and just put it all together. You know, times the guys were open, I missed some throws I usually make.”
I mean, if your starting quarterback is coming out after the game and talking about (multiple times, I might add) the inability of the pass catchers to get open, you have a problem. When Metcalf is your leading receiver in every category and the next closest is Pat Freiermuth, who was MIA for most of the season, that’s a major issue.
An issue that Khan had multiple chances to solve, and yet, here the Steelers sit.
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