Kevin Colbert was a huge reason for the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2000s. He helped build some great teams that achieved a lot of success. There are two more Lombardi trophies in the case because of his contributions to this organization.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70689149/1238930588.0.jpg)
However, father time was not kind to Colbert, and his later choices for the team are still impacting the roster today.
Specifically, his drafts became ugly. A team known for building through the draft and working their rookies into a role over time, as the NFL adapted to getting these young players snaps early, the Steelers never updated their draft philosophy.
We went from consistent drafts that netted a handful of core players and the occasional stud to barely getting a four-year starter from the group. Looking back on his final draft class, the results seem even uglier.
Kevin Colbert set the Pittsburgh Steelers back with the 2022 draft
Colbert had announced that he was retiring as the GM after the 2022 draft, a puzzling move considering that meant he would be signing all of the free agents and making the picks before his predecessor came in. Typically, GMs would step down after the season and turn the reins over.
His final draft class was centered on finding the Steelers' next franchise quarterback in one of the worst quarterback drafts in recent memory. They ultimately went with Kenny Pickett in the first round, and we all know how that story went.
The rest of his class hasn’t fared any better. George Pickens flashed immense talent but couldn’t mature. DeMarvin Leal was an outright bust, while the day three picks didn’t amount to much.
Conner Heyward and Mark Robinson failed to turn into anything significant and are fighting for a roster spot this season. Chris Oladokun was cut outright as a rookie. The only contributor is Calvin Austin, who has been miscast as the Steelers' second receiver.
That isn’t to say that Omar Khan would have had a better draft class. The team likely would have targeted a quarterback early and still whiffed on that pick, but we would have had someone to actually blame. You can’t fault Khan for how bad this class ended up being.
His final few classes weren’t great, but at least we got one or two ok starters for a stretch. 2022 won’t boast that. Unless Austin gets a new deal before free agency next year, this entire class will be gone after their rookie deals.
It was a bad fall from grace, and the Steelers are still reeling from some bad draft choices. Khan has turned things around, although we still haven’t gotten any stars from his drafts. That said, the choice to let Colbert hang around for so long has proven to be quite the detriment to Pittsburgh.
