Kovacevic: What if Steelers' youth apply heat?

The ball had been flung from Mason Rudolph's fingertips, effortless in motion but with enough force that it sailed high enough that, had those charcoal clouds looming near the Rooney Sports Complex been just a bit closer, rain surely would have come down at the other end.

As it was, the pass had to settle for being a rainbow, with the pot of gold being the hands of a wide-open James Washington.

It didn't mean much. I won't pretend otherwise.

Nor did it matter that, according to other players and Mike Tomlin himself, Rudolph and Washington stood out throughout the Steelers' rookie minicamp over the weekend, with the coach saying that those two "made some plays," even if that approaches giddiness in the context of "football in shorts," as he often refers to this time of year.

Listen for yourself:

Doesn't matter.

Nor was there much to cull from Marcus Tucker, another receiver in the fold, beaming of Rudolph, "He has a really big arm, strong arm. He throws a great ball. And I liked what I heard, too. Certain guys just have a command of the huddle." Or Rudolph calling Washington, his pitch-and-catch mate at Oklahoma State, "a great person, great player." Or Washington raving of Rudolph, "He’s a perfectionist. He doesn’t like to be sloppy. If it's sloppy, he’s going to redo it. No matter what. That’s something that will help him at this level."

All of it sounded good. Looked even better. But again, it didn't mean much.

Not yet.

But hey, what if it winds up that way?

What if Rudolph shines through OTAs, Latrobe and in the preseason? And if, for the first time in Ben Roethlisberger's tenure, he feels even the tiniest push of pressure to perform at a higher level than his first few games of 2017? And if that somehow takes the offense as a whole to a higher level?

Look, if Roethlisberger got all ruffled over Rudolph getting drafted, imagine if the kid actually performs.

What if Washington similarly steps up? And if, as I'm expecting, he's given a legit shot at being a starter since he's really only got to beat out Eli Rogers? If he and JuJu Smith-Schuster start stealing some of the catches, the touchdowns and the end-zone dances from Antonio Brown?

Look, AB's the best. But he's also a big part of the diva/distraction behavior that a bunch of the Steelers' leaders were vowing they hope to bury before the next real kickoff.  Everyone talks about Ben being 36, but AB turns 30 in July.  Imagine him pulling garbage like the Facebook Live stunt or the Baltimore water cooler if the ball's getting redistributed.

What if — and this one's admittedly way out there — fifth-round running back Jaylen Samuels capitalizes on all those extra carries that look to be available in the coming camp? If Le'Veon Bell stays away, if James Conner is slow to recover from knee surgery, all those preseason rushes go to Stevan Ridley, Fitz Toussaint and Samuels, right?

Look, Samuels isn't a threat to Bell. None of these guys are. But imagine Bell's social media bluster getting toned down if someone, anyone ran with some gusto in his absence.

I love it. I love this scenario.

No, I'm not a believer, as most of the Nation seems to be, that these Steelers went from 13-3 to Leonard Fournette's roadkill because of the diva/distraction thing. I'm on record, repeatedly, that this group's leadership is solid, from the authoritative head coach to Cam Heyward to Maurkice Pouncey to Vince Williams to Joe Haden to other critical figures in that locker room. What ultimately crushed them was the loss of Ryan Shazier and the resulting damage wrought by a smart Jacksonville scheme that assaulted that hole mercilessly.

Connecting one to the other requires a near-psychotic leap in logic.

I'm also not a believer that the offense had any cause for blame against the Jaguars because, you know, 42 points and all.

But that doesn't mean the Steelers can't benefit from being smarter, more mature. And that, unquestionably, must start with Tomlin not being nearly as dependent on the same three guys — Roethlisberger, Brown, Bell — without being able to comfortably call all the shots he'd like. And let's face it, when a franchise is paying so much to so few, when it's got virtually no choice but to cater to their whims and complaints ... that's not healthy. That's also not sustainable.

Only Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II can know if that's why they drafted Rudolph, in particular. But I wouldn't be surprised if that's it. The Steelers are their team. It's their roster. It's their direction to set. And with all the success all three have enjoyed — in concert with Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell, of course — they've earned that right as stewards.

So let's see it in action. Let's see Tomlin, above all, take full charge. With everyone. Let's see Colbert add depth with an aim of making everyone on the inside necessarily uncomfortable, the way it's supposed to be, and yes, I'm talking about more at inside linebacker. Let's see Rooney raise his presence and not stand for any nonsense, whether it's visible to the public or not.

Maybe this draft had nothing to do with any of the above. But maybe it did.

If so, to repeat, I love it.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY