From the notebook of a sportswriter who easily gives Omar Khan an A+ in his first offseason as general manager:
• It’s not just me being in the media and hopeful of a great relationship with the new guy. You must always look at such statements with a raised eyebrow because of that. But the picks of Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr., Darnell Washington, and Cory Trice have the ring of Leon Searcy, Levon Kirkland, Joel Steed, and Darren Perry to it.• Or Rod Woodson, Hardy Nickerson, Greg Lloyd, and Merril Hoge.• Or Joe Greene,• “When they drafted him,” Alan Faneca, the Hall of Fame guard who announced the pick, said of the big tight end, “the first thing I thought was, ‘We are setting the edge. The edge is now officially set.’”• That’s how I felt. Not only are they setting the edge, but in Washington they’re doing it with someone who possesses downfield playmaking skills. THAT is the double-edge advantage the Steelers get in Washington.• “It’s going to cause people trouble,” Faneca said. “They’re going to have to honor him, but they’re still going to have to put some beef in front of him. So it’ll be really interesting. It’s going to cause real trouble for defenses.”• That type of dual-threat tight end has always been a rare gem. Ask Rob Gronkowski.• Washington wasn’t the only offensive player bringing versatility to the offense. Jones practiced at right tackle every day while being groomed as the future left tackle at the University of Georgia. He also, according to former Steelers guard Craig Wolfley, “pass-blocks like a guard.” And Jones’ athleticism gives him the Faneca-like ability to get out in front of plays like a Pro Bowl guard.• Could Jones become a guard? During a recent SteelCityInsider podcast Wolfley wondered whether Jones’ length and athletic ability make him a candidate to become the franchise’s next great center.• We’ll learn offensive line coach Pat Meyer’s initial plans for Jones and the rest of the acquisitions to an O-line that finished strong (with five who played all 17 games last season). We can guess that Jones will open as the second-team left tackle and, say, free-agent acquisition Isaac Seumalo will open as the first-team left guard, but it’s all just guesswork the day before the first OTA. It might even be guesswork the day after the last OTA.• In that vein, I can appreciate what Faneca had to say about putting together an offensive line:• “It’s kind of the magical mystery of the offensive line,” he said. “You plug people in, and people might not be in the right spot or where you think they should be today – they’ll be in different spots – but that gives you the best unit, and you just run with it.• “That competition in the room is going to breed greatness,” Faneca continued. “You’re going to push each other. Everybody on the offensive line, we’re a brotherhood anyway, so it’s not like you’re going to hurt anybody’s feelings or anything like that. You’re just going to push your brother further and he’s going to drag you along and pull you with him. It’s going to make the whole room better.”• And, as history has taught us, the better the offensive line, the better the defensive line. And then the better the secondary. And, of course, the better everybody becomes.• Pinning the hopes on the offensive line in this modern era? Well, in theory it doesn’t belong in a pinball game against Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. But the physicality of football will never, ever go out of style, as long as the grind of first downs results in touchdowns. And with the skill players in place here, I see that happening.• Washington will be a key. And I pulled Trice out from the bottom of the deck as my late-round wild card, so he can be called a key as well. Both of those players are physical specimens who slipped down draft boards because of injury concerns. So, the trusted Steelers’ medical team is a part of the A+ grade, too – as long as those players pan out physically, of course.• I trust them, just as I trusted the energy of the new order at the top of the organization. History says I should.
