Huge Mistake By Steelers' Omar Khan Highlighted During First Half Of Monday Night Football For NFL World To See

It's still no surprise that Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan has frustrated fans for maybe the first time during his tenure as the head of the team's front office. The wide receiver position has remained a question mark ever since the decision was made to trade wideout Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in the 2024 offseason. The organization hasn't had much success trying to find a legitimate number two option in the receivers' room since, which has led to a high sense of urgency with the trade deadline occurring on Tuesday, November 5th. Fans got a taste of what could have been on Monday Night.

If a big-name wide receiver has potentially been available in the trade market, the Steelers have almost immediately been linked to that specific player. This has created a sense of optimism in the Steel City, but nothing has come to fruition, and the offensive unit is stuck with a bunch of borderline wide receiver three and/or fours. The team had a chance recently to jump on a reliable veteran for a respectable price, but the situation went in a different direction.

DeAndre Hopkins was playing for a Tennessee Titans team that doesn't seem to have any chance of competing in the postseason anytime soon. This triggered a trade that sent him to the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. In his second game with his new team, he is already proving to be well worth the fifth-round compensatory pick that could turn into a fourth.

After the insane catch above, Hopkins went on to catch a touchdown pass just a couple of plays later. He finished the first half with six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. This is exactly what the Chiefs were looking for in the veteran, and unfortunately, it is bad news for the rest of the AFC that is trying to catch up to Kansas City.

There's no way to tell if Pittsburgh had a legitimate offer out there on the table for Hopkins, but it's not fun to watch him already making such a difference on the team that is favored to win the conference in late January. Fans may be disappointed in Khan for not securing a trade for Brandon Aiyuk or Davante Adams, and now Hopkins' early success in Kansas City brings another potential mistake to light.

Another interesting piece to this puzzle is that the draft pick that Tennessee gets from the Chiefs could be a fourth-rounder. The Steelers can't confirm that they will have that to give in 2025 given Justin Fields' playing time possibly leading to that pick being owed to the Chicago Bears. If Khan did pick up the phone, the ask from Tennessee could have been hard to meet and guarantee.

Overall, though, there are always creative ways to get trades done. The Steelers are desperate for another legitimate option for whichever quarterback is running the offense. The top targets consistently fell out of the market one by one, and the decision to remain conservative and not aggressive could come back to bite a franchise that is trying to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season.

Steelers' Lack Of Aggression Has Fans Worried About January Football

At some point, Pittsburgh may really need to open up the passing game in order to win an important football game. The defense has done most of the heavy lifting, but the emergence of Russell Wilson has also provided a positive outlook. Overall, however, not trading for a guy like Hopkins could be something that the team regrets down the line. Watching him perform at a high level on Monday Night Football is not a fun sight for Steelers fans.

Do you think that Khan and the front office are regretting not making an aggressive offer for Hopkins? Let us know in the comments below!

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