Mike Tomlin closed OTA sessions Thursday much the same way he opened them — keeping a close eye on the progress of first-round draft pick Terrell Edmunds.
And there was good and bad to be seen.
The good? The rookie safety got his hands on a couple of passes during team drills in the Steelers' ninth, and final, practice session.
The bad? He dropped both potential interceptions, much to the chagrin of his head coach.
"He came and talked to us today. He said those are game-changing plays we can't leave on the field," Edmunds said. "We want to be the No. 1 defense. That's how we have to go into every game."
In case Edmunds and the rest of the defensive backs are having any trouble realizing that, there are reminders. Soon after speaking to reporters following the completion of practice, he was headed to the locker room.
There, his fate awaited him.
The Steelers defensive backs, it seems, aren't counting interceptions and deflections in these practices, though the coaches certainly track those things. No, the defensive backs are tracking different things.
"We didn't count picks, we counted dropped picks. Every one, you go to your spot and do your pushups," Edmunds said. "It's more than 10. I don't want to tell you how many, but it's more than 10. I'm about to get stronger. It's enough to get my attention."
Edmunds has been an attention-getter thus far for the Steelers. And the thing that jumps out first and foremost is his work ethic.
He was the first player on the field for each and every OTA session, often coming out 10 to 15 minutes before anyone else and jogging, cutting and running. Then, after practice, he was often at work on the Jugs machine, catching balls to work on his hand-eye coordination.
"I don't want any soft tissue injuries or anything like that, so I just come out here and get warm," he said of his early arrivals.
You can expect that to continue through training camp. And Edmunds can't wait for that to roll around.
Why?
"You can really show. All of those catches, you can knock them out with the shoulder," he said. "That really lets them know how you can mess up the timing with the pads on."
The Steelers haven't said yet how they plan on using the 6-1, 217-pound safety. But there has been some talk of using safeties to help replace the presence of inside linebacker Ryan Shazier in the nickel and dime packages.
The team has teased Edmunds with that look at times. But it's still in the infancy stages in terms of installing its defensive packages.
It's obvious, however, the Steelers feel Edmunds is capable of more. In fact, that was one of the things Tomlin pointed out about him when he scouted him at Virginia Tech.
"Anything that you can imagine him doing, you saw him do at Virginia Tech’s defensive tape," Tomlin said of Edmunds after the draft. "You saw him play free. You saw him play strong. You saw him play deep middle. You saw him play half field. You saw him play sub-package linebacker. That versatility was exciting. We were just talking here the other day about the specialization of ball, and things that you’re able to do with sub-packages. You’re not speculating in that evaluation.
"You saw him do a number of things that will be on the menu for him. We got a sharp, young, versatile guy who’s a very good communicator, that plays with physicality. Quite simply, he checked all the boxes for us."
But, they haven't begun to define what exactly that role will be. At least not yet.
Edmunds expects that to come soon as the Steelers continue to add to their defensive packages. For example, the team hasn't trotted out any dime defensive looks to this point.
"We're going to talk about that closer to minicamp and closer to training camp. Coach has visited about it here and there, but he hasn't really said anything," Edmunds said. "We're still just putting in the basic stuff, learning the basics and trying to get to our top level on that."
And getting stronger from the dropped interceptions.
That's something he hopes to change, as well. Though they were better in 2017 than they had been in previous seasons, the Steelers ranked ninth in the NFL with 16 interceptions. But Shazier tied with safety Sean Davis for the team lead with three.
According to Edmunds, who totaled six interceptions in his final two seasons at Virginia Tech, picking the ball off is all about having the proper mentality.
"You've got to turn into the receiver when the ball is in the air," he said. "If it's a dropped pick, it's not even a good play for us. We made an OK play. It should have been a big play."
And he's all about wanting to make big plays. He wants to prove he belongs here. It's part of the reason why he arrives on the field early and stays late, even though he still doesn't have a contract.
The rest of the Steelers' draft picks have signed, but Edmunds has yet to do so, even though many other first-round draft picks around the league have begun signing their deals.
With the league now slotting first-round picks' contracts, any delays now are typically because of wording or perks. But Edmunds remains unconcerned.
"I'm just coming out here focused on football right now. I'm putting what I've got on the field and showing guys I'm ready to compete," he said. "I haven't really thought too much about it. I know it's going to happen eventually."