Khan Has Created a Successful Track Record
by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published February 20, 2026, 10:13 AM
“I know just enough to know how little we know.” – Naval Ravikant
That quote in pinned on my favorite X (Twitter) post. It refers to the 1990 NFL Draft when Emmitt Smith was selected in round one that coincided with John Randle going undrafted that same year. Ironically in 2010, both players were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The illusion of certainty in draft season never fails, but hopefully this sheds some light on the direction of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The setting will be epic.
Downtown will be dressed in black and gold, the stage will rise along the river, and the spotlight will belong to the franchise that helped build the event’s history the Pittsburgh Steelers
And standing in the middle of it all will be general manager Omar Khan armed with a war chest of 12 draft selections.
Khan took over on May 26, 2022, roughly a month after Kevin Colbert closed the book on his Super Bowl winning career with the organization. In the three drafts since, Khan has established a narrative on which direction the team is going to go with each pick in the draft. I think you’ll be surprised to learn how heavy the Steelers lean in certain conferences along with the schools that play in those conferences.
Because in life, we are creatures of habit.
Habits. Rituals. Routines.
History shows routines tell you everything. If you study mob hits or high-profile takedowns, they start with patterns. Same coffee shop. Same commute. Same time of day. Predictability is power and sometimes, downfall.
In football, habits don’t lead to car bombs, they lead to roster construction. The familiarity with the program, their player development, which area scouts are most dialed in to attain the most critical information for draft day evaluations.
Khan is entering his fourth draft as GM, and patterns are forming.
I remember his first under the title of GM at the NFL Scouting Combine. Local media was granted a brief session with him before he stepped to the national podium. Sweat beaded on his forehead. If memory serves me right, someone handed him a towel.
That’s how I remember it.
It wasn’t panic it was magnitude. A first-time GM on the biggest personnel stage in football, minutes away from facing national cameras. The local room wasn’t circling him. It was steadying him. It felt like Pittsburgh media protecting its own before he walked into the storm.
Fast forward three drafts later, and there’s no towel necessary.
Now comes the annual ritual. The mock draft exercise. Educated guesses disguised as insight. Personal satisfaction disguised as predictive power.
Since Khan took over, I’ve correctly connected three names to Pittsburgh before they were called. Keeanu Benton out of University of Wisconsin–Madison, Troy Fautanu from University of Washington, and Derrick Harmon of University of Oregon.
Three hits.
Not exactly a scouting crystal ball.
But that’s the point. If this were predictable, there’d be no reason to watch.
What we can study, though, are tendencies. Conference pipelines. Specific schools. Positional emphasis. The fingerprints of a front office are settling into its rhythm.
Below is a breakdown of the college conferences and programs that have become recurring touchpoints under Khan’s leadership, a pattern that suggests this isn’t random board play. It’s targeted sourcing.
And so far, the results suggest the Pittsburgh Steelers personnel department has been more calculated than chaotic.
Fifty-two days out.
Twelve picks in hand.
And if habits tell the story, the clues are already there. Yet the unknown of it all remains. That’s why the NFL Draft is such a beautiful thing.
2025 Draft Class
Derrick Harmon – Oregon → Big Ten
Kaleb Johnson – Iowa → Big Ten
Jack Sawyer – Ohio State → Big Ten
Yahya Black – Iowa → Big Ten
Will Howard – Ohio State → Big Ten
Carson Bruener – Washington → Big Ten (Washington joined B1G in 2024)
Donte Kent – Central Michigan → MAC (Mid-American Conference)
2025 Breakdown:
Big Ten: 6
MAC: 1
That’s heavy Big Ten trench football DNA.
2024 Draft Class
Troy Fautanu – Washington → Pac-12 (final Pac-12 season in 2023)
Zach Frazier – West Virginia → Big 12
Roman Wilson – Michigan → Big Ten
Payton Wilson – NC State → ACC
Mason McCormick – South Dakota State → Missouri Valley Football Conference (FCS)
Logan Lee – Iowa → Big Ten
Ryan Watts – Texas → Big 12 (Texas joined SEC in 2024 but was Big 12 at draft time)
2024 Breakdown:
Big Ten: 2
Big 12: 2
ACC: 1
Pac-12: 1
MVFC (FCS): 1
2023 Draft Class
Broderick Jones – Georgia → SEC
Joey Porter Jr. – Penn State → Big Ten
Keeanu Benton – Wisconsin → Big Ten
Darnell Washington – Georgia → SEC
Nick Herbig – Wisconsin → Big Ten
Cory Trice – Purdue → Big Ten
Spencer Anderson – Maryland → Big Ten
2023 Breakdown:
Big Ten: 5
SEC: 2
Three-Year Conference Totals (2023–2025)
Big Ten: 13
SEC: 2
Big 12: 2
ACC: 1
Pac-12: 1
MAC: 1
MVFC (FCS): 1
School Totals (2023–2025)
University of Iowa -3
Ohio State University -2
University of Washington – 2
University of Georgia – 2
University of Wisconsin – 2
1 Selection Each
University of Oregon – 1
Central Michigan University – 1
West Virginia University – 1
University of Michigan – 1
North Carolina State University – 1
South Dakota State University -1
University of Texas at Austin -1
Pennsylvania State University – 1
Purdue University – 1
University of Maryland – 1
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
