NFL · 7 hours ago

Omar Khan’s Steelers Have a New Habit: Trading Talent Before Their Prime

Bo Marchionte

Host · Writer

Cowboys: Jory Porter Jr.
Joey Porter Jr. Player Profile
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 193
- College: Penn State
- Draft Entry: 2023: Round 2, No. 32 overall
- Traded To: Dallas Cowboys
- Trade Return: 2028 second-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pick
This one isn’t Pittsburgh clearing dead money out of the garage.

Porter is 26, plays a premium position and possesses one of the hardest traits to purchase in free agency: legitimate outside man-coverage ability.

Long arms. Competitive at the line. Comfortable crowding a receiver's release and living in his hip pocket. Porter’s game has never been immaculate penalties and technique discipline have occasionally turned his aggression against him but those are refinement issues, not evidence of physical erosion.

That's what makes this trade different.

Pittsburgh isn't betting Porter is finished.

It is betting the compensation and future financial flexibility are worth more than paying to discover Porter's ceiling.
Steelers: GM Omar Khan
Omar Khan Reshaping Roster

There was a time when the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to possess a sixth sense about when to let somebody else pay for the decline.

A player would leave Pittsburgh carrying a recognizable name, a resume and somebody else’s optimism. A year or two later, the Steelers often looked like the people who knew something everyone else didn’t.

Under general manager Omar Khan, the transaction wire has developed a different pulse.

Pittsburgh isn’t simply moving players it believes are finished. Increasingly, it is willing to move players who haven’t reached their football expiration date and in some cases might not have reached their football ceiling.

Joey Porter Jr. is the latest and loudest example.

The Steelers traded the 26-year-old cornerback to Dallas for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder, ending a contract stalemate involving a player Pittsburgh selected No. 32 overall just three years earlier.

This isn’t an isolated transaction.

Khan's first-ever first-round selection, Broderick Jones, was traded to Dallas in August. Kaleb Johnson, a third-rounder only one year removed from being drafted, was shipped to Green Bay the same weekend.

Then there is George Pickens.

Pickens wasn't a Khan draft pick, but Khan traded him to Dallas in May 2025. Pickens responded with 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns during his first Cowboys season. That is precisely what Pittsburgh once seemed so skilled at avoiding watching the player it moved become significantly more valuable somewhere else.

This doesn’t automatically make Khan’s strategy wrong.

It makes it fascinating.

The Steelers appear increasingly comfortable converting young players into future assets rather than allowing draft pedigree, organizational history or approaching second contracts to dictate the decision.

Maybe Khan is selling volatility before it becomes expensive.

Maybe he is churning a roster more aggressively than Pittsburgh historically has.

Or maybe we are watching the Steelers become something they rarely used to be.

A franchise willing to let somebody else find out how good its young players can become.
Steelers: Omar Khan's Draft Selections
THE OMAR KHAN DRAFT LEDGER

Khan took over following the 2022 NFL Draft, making 2023 his first draft class as Steelers general manager. Here are all 31 selections made during his first four drafts. An asterisk (*) indicates a player Pittsburgh has since traded.

2023 NFL DRAFT

Round 1, No. 14: Broderick Jones, OT*: Georgia

Round 2, No. 32: Joey Porter Jr., CB*: Penn State

Round 2, No. 49: Keeanu Benton, DL: Wisconsin

Round 3, No. 93: Darnell Washington, TE: Georgia

Round 4, No. 132: Nick Herbig, LB: Wisconsin

Round 7, No. 241: Cory Trice Jr., CB: Purdue

Round 7, No. 251: Spencer Anderson, OL: Maryland

2024 NFL DRAFT

Round 1, No. 20: Troy Fautanu, OT: Washington

Round 2, No. 51: Zach Frazier, C: West Virginia

Round 3, No. 84: Roman Wilson, WR: Michigan

Round 3, No. 98: Payton Wilson, LB: NC State

Round 4, No. 119: Mason McCormick, G: South Dakota State

Round 6, No. 178: Logan Lee, DL: Iowa

Round 6, No. 195: Ryan Watts, DB: Texas

2025 NFL DRAFT

Round 1, No. 21: Derrick Harmon, DL: Oregon

Round 3, No. 83: Kaleb Johnson, RB*: Iowa

Round 4, No. 123: Jack Sawyer, LB: Ohio State

Round 5, No. 164: Yahya Black, DL: Iowa

Round 6, No. 185: Will Howard, QB: Ohio State

Round 7, No. 226: Carson Bruener, LB: Washington

Round 7, No. 229: Donte Kent, CB: Central Michigan

2026 NFL DRAFT

Round 1, No. 21: Max Iheanachor, OT: Arizona State

Round 2, No. 47: Germie Bernard, WR: Alabama

Round 3, No. 76: Drew Allar, QB: Penn State

Round 3, No. 85: Daylen Everette, CB: Georgia

Round 3, No. 96: Gennings Dunker, G: Iowa

Round 4, No. 121: Kaden Wetjen, WR: Iowa

Round 5, No. 169: Riley Nowakowski, TE: Indiana

Round 6, No. 210: Gabe Rubio, DE: Notre Dame

Round 7, No. 224: Robert Spears-Jennings, DB: Oklahoma

Round 7, No. 230: Eli Heidenreich, WR: Navy
Cowboys: George Pickens
George Pickens Player Profile
- Height: 6’3
- Weight: 200
- College: Georgia
- Draft Entry: 2022 Round 2, No. 52 overall
- Traded To: Dallas Cowboys
- Trade Return: 2026 third-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick
This one was different.

George Pickens wasn’t a failed draft pick Pittsburgh wanted off the books. He was a talented receiver approaching the expensive part of the relationship. Pickens suffered through the dismal Steelers offensive woes.

It created a ugly narrative and they had to move on from the disconnect growing between player and franchise.

The Steelers spent the 52nd overall selection on Pickens in 2022, then watched him produce 174 catches for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns across three seasons.

At 6-foot-3 with ridiculous body control and a massive catch radius, Pickens offered something Pittsburgh’s offense didn’t have much of a receiver capable of turning a covered throw into a completion.

Then Pittsburgh traded him before his age-24 season.
Packers: Kaleb Johnson
Kaleb Johnson Player Profile
- Height: 6-1
- Weight: 224
- College: Iowa
- Draft Entry: 2025 Round 3, No. 83 overall
- Traded To: Green Bay Packers
- Trade Return: 2028 sixth-round pick
This wasn't a divorce after years of trying.

It was practically an annulment.

Pittsburgh spent the 83rd overall selection on Kaleb Johnson in 2025 and traded him away before the beginning of his second season.

Johnson's rookie tape provided reasons for the Steelers to move on. He managed only 69 rushing yards on 28 carries, a 2.5-yard average, and never forced his way into a meaningful offensive role.

In Green Bay, Johnson has been useful for Packers. Accumulating 38 rushing yards in two games and catching one pass for 10 yards. He had one catch for nine yards in all of 2025 for Pittsburgh.

But this is where scouting becomes more interesting than statistics.

Johnson entered the NFL after rushing for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns during his final Iowa season. At 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, he brought downhill mass, contact balance and the profile of a back who could punish light boxes once his vision adjusted to NFL closing speed.

Pittsburgh decided it had seen enough after 28 NFL carries.

Think about that.
Cowboys: Broderick Jones
Broderick Jones Player Profile
- Height: 6-5
- Weight: 311
- College: Georgia
- Draft Entry: 2023 — Round 1, No. 14 overall
- Traded To: Dallas Cowboys
- Trade Return: Pittsburgh received 2027 third- and sixth-round picks while sending Jones and a 2027 fourth-rounder to Dallas. Jones never panned out for Pittsburgh.
The combination of Inconsistent plays and coming off a neck injury put Pittsburgh in the market to draft Max Iheanachor in round one of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Steelers traded up in the 2023 first round to secure the Georgia tackle at No. 14. Three seasons later, Khan traded his first-ever first-round selection out of Pittsburgh.
Cowboys: Jory Porter Jr.
Joey Porter Jr. Player Profile
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 193
- College: Penn State
- Draft Entry: 2023: Round 2, No. 32 overall
- Traded To: Dallas Cowboys
- Trade Return: 2028 second-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pick
This one isn’t Pittsburgh clearing dead money out of the garage.

Porter is 26, plays a premium position and possesses one of the hardest traits to purchase in free agency: legitimate outside man-coverage ability.

Long arms. Competitive at the line. Comfortable crowding a receiver's release and living in his hip pocket. Porter’s game has never been immaculate penalties and technique discipline have occasionally turned his aggression against him but those are refinement issues, not evidence of physical erosion.

That's what makes this trade different.

Pittsburgh isn't betting Porter is finished.

It is betting the compensation and future financial flexibility are worth more than paying to discover Porter's ceiling.
Steelers: GM Omar Khan
Omar Khan Reshaping Roster

There was a time when the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to possess a sixth sense about when to let somebody else pay for the decline.

A player would leave Pittsburgh carrying a recognizable name, a resume and somebody else’s optimism. A year or two later, the Steelers often looked like the people who knew something everyone else didn’t.

Under general manager Omar Khan, the transaction wire has developed a different pulse.

Pittsburgh isn’t simply moving players it believes are finished. Increasingly, it is willing to move players who haven’t reached their football expiration date and in some cases might not have reached their football ceiling.

Joey Porter Jr. is the latest and loudest example.

The Steelers traded the 26-year-old cornerback to Dallas for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder, ending a contract stalemate involving a player Pittsburgh selected No. 32 overall just three years earlier.

This isn’t an isolated transaction.

Khan's first-ever first-round selection, Broderick Jones, was traded to Dallas in August. Kaleb Johnson, a third-rounder only one year removed from being drafted, was shipped to Green Bay the same weekend.

Then there is George Pickens.

Pickens wasn't a Khan draft pick, but Khan traded him to Dallas in May 2025. Pickens responded with 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns during his first Cowboys season. That is precisely what Pittsburgh once seemed so skilled at avoiding watching the player it moved become significantly more valuable somewhere else.

This doesn’t automatically make Khan’s strategy wrong.

It makes it fascinating.

The Steelers appear increasingly comfortable converting young players into future assets rather than allowing draft pedigree, organizational history or approaching second contracts to dictate the decision.

Maybe Khan is selling volatility before it becomes expensive.

Maybe he is churning a roster more aggressively than Pittsburgh historically has.

Or maybe we are watching the Steelers become something they rarely used to be.

A franchise willing to let somebody else find out how good its young players can become.

Omar Khan’s Steelers Have a New Habit: Trading Talent Before Their Prime

Joey Porter Jr. Player Profile

Omar Khan Reshaping Roster

THE OMAR KHAN DRAFT LEDGER

George Pickens Player Profile

Kaleb Johnson Player Profile

Broderick Jones Player Profile

Joey Porter Jr. Player Profile

Omar Khan Reshaping Roster

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