Kovacevic: Tomlin's best (and actual) approach to camp is wide open

Alex Highsmith came charging with the same force, the same fury he'd been applying all Wednesday afternoon at Heinz Field in scorching a couple of rookies, Dan Moore Jr. and Pat Freiermuth, in sequences from scrimmage -- both resulting in zero-gain stuffs on Najee Harris -- and in absolutely annihilating all comers in backs-on-backers drills.

Only this time, in one of the latter drills on the Steelers' first day in pads of this training camp, he collided with No. 61 ... and went nowhere.

No. 61 kept his feet moving, planted firmly, stood his ground, then proceeded to move smoothly along with Highsmith when he attempted an alternate route. End play. End Highsmith's day-long dominance.

Which led to my first question, watching from the yellow seats: Who was that?

And then my second question: Can we see that again, pretty please and thanks?

Before I'd had a chance to whip the single-sheet roster from the back pocket, the second question was answered some blessed soul involved in that process who vocally called for an immediate rematch. And as those calls tend to be heeded in the football culture, both immediately lined up anew and went at it again ... with an identical outcome.

Aviante Collins was the name, per the sheet once it emerged. He's No. 61. He's a 28-year-old tackle who's logged a grand total of five NFL games in four years since going undrafted out of TCU, three games in 2017, two more in 2019, all with the Vikings. He's a practice-squad guy. A journeyman. Owner of a professional bio that wouldn't fill a fraction of his football card.

And, like it or not, he'd better be a candidate to play for these Steelers, a subject I broached afterward with Mike Tomlin, only to receive this riveting reply:

Nice, huh?

"When somebody makes a play out here," the man spoke, wide-eyed and pointing back toward the grid, "we're going to believe 'em."

It's one thing to say it. He's said similar things at Saint Vincent over the years. And yet, I'd never heard it with anywhere near that gusto, that gravity.

He did swerve away from my specific focus on the offensive line, but that's fine. He knew what I'd asked and why, and he came back, in his inimitable style, with clear, concise language on the single concept that should count more than any other at this camp: All five of those jobs, plus backup slots, should be as close to open as is practical.

All of them. Trai Turner's, too.

Sure, I get that Chuks Okorafor's going to be the left tackle, if only because he's the only realistic candidate. But beyond that, until Zach Banner's back in drills -- he's still relegated to the sideline rehabbing the knee -- right tackle's got to be open, not anointed. Until Kendrick Green, currently on the first team and showing well, beats out B.J. Finney, center's got to be open, not anointed. Until Kevin Dotson sees his first work of camp, as he's been out with what Tomlin's called a minor injury, left guard's got to be open, not anointed. 

And yeah, the same's got to go for Turner. He's the only vet at age 28, he just signed for a year at $3 million, and he accounts for 89 of this line's cumulative 113 career starts, so he'd appear to be an exception. He isn't. He's coming off a lousy year in Los Angeles. He hasn't proved anything to anyone here yet.

Hey, let's not pretend that 2021 isn't all about this unit. It just is. So, with this circumstance, maybe more than any in recent franchise history, if No. 61's having a day, go right ahead and believe him.

• My goodness, is Harris ever going to be special. I'm sorry to be guilty of hype, but he makes avoiding it hard. He's got the strength, the skill, the speed, but also the poise of a star. He's used to being the best in every setting, and it shows.

• I'd expressed concern about Harris in yesterday's 10 Takes related to his apparently not having been vaccinated, purely from the football standpoint, while also acknowledging he might've been simply waiting out his required two weeks after getting the shot(s). Turned out the latter appeared to be dead-on, as he reported yesterday with no mask, no wristband, no nothing.

Good on him, and good on the Steelers for having been among the NFL's best in getting their players vaccinated.

All three Pittsburgh teams, as long as I'm at it, have been among their respective leagues' best from the beginning. And that, in turn, is a reflection of our region, with Allegheny County among the nation's best.

• Seeing Cam Sutton and James Pierre stand out -- Sutton leaped high to overpower Chase Claypool on what should've been a sure touchdown from Ben Roethlisberger -- already has me a lot less worried about right outside corner. I realize that's irrational, but I'm just sharing.

• Moment of the day, by the way, came when Harris fended off Robert Spillane, and Ben came sprinting into the area to do a flying shoulder-bump celebration with the young man. The 3,000 or so fans on hand -- wonderful to see in and of itself -- loved it.

Najee himself thought enough of this that he posted this pic on an Instagram story:

• The opening day of NHL free agency saw the Penguins get worse ... and then get worse still.

In other words, it's a wholly accurate reflection of how their broader offseason's gone to date: Subtract, subtract, subtract.

I get that Ron Hextall's not done. He can't be. He'd better not be. If for no other reason that he can't responsibly enter the coming season with Tristan Jarry as his only viable No. 1 goaltender.

At the same time, there comes a stage when the losing's gone far enough. Jared McCann didn't need to be traded. Brandon Tanev didn't need to be exposed. And now, after all that, Cody Ceci didn't need to be lost, as he was yesterday in signing for four years and $13 million. That AAV of $3.25 million was a little unsightly, but still would've had him as the Penguins' fifth highest-paid defenseman. And it's not as if the money wasn't there, seeing that, also yesterday, they committed nearly $5 million combined for next season on Brock McGinn ($2.7 million), Evan Rodrigues ($1 million) and Dominik Simon ($750,000).

For the purpose of this argument, none is more valuable than what Ceci would've been. And to boot, there isn't a right-handed defenseman at any level of the system to take his place and pair with a volatile partner like Mike Matheson. Which means Hextall now needs to find another Ceci from the outside.

Utterly nonsensical. All of it, but particularly now.

• McGinn's a necessary addition ... because of losing Tanev. He's a hard-driving forechecker and slot presence, he's got good speed, and he can score at a decent rate, almost always good for double-digit goals. That's needed ... because of losing Tanev.

If the savings were significant, this might make sense. They aren't. No one in the organization was fretting over what Tanev was going to cost 2-3 years from now, given how different the roster could be by then.

All I've got on that one.

• Seeking a pattern in any of this?

Here's one: The players the Penguins have kept or brought back, other than McGinn, have all been Mike Sullivan favorites. Simon's the obvious and conspicuous one -- though I'll support him on that because Simon's exceptional at winning/managing the puck -- but that also applies to Rodrigues, Zach Aston-Reese and Teddy Blueger. This isn't a knock on the coach's preferences, mind you, or the players. Just highlighting what's there.

• No idea what to make of Rodolfo Castro, other than that it's plainly awesome that, with his two home runs last night in the Pirates' 7-3 loss to the Brewers at PNC Park, he's now the first player in Major League Baseball history to homer with his first five big-league hits. Also, and almost as impressive, he's the first Pittsburgh player to have five consecutive hits clear fences at any point since Willie Stargell in 1965.

As Derek Shelton quipped afterward, "I don’t really think it’s sustainable, but if he wants to try, he can try.”

That goal notwithstanding, it's tough to envision what's ahead. Because truth be told, when Max Kranick, last night's starter fresh up from the minors, says of Castro, "I’ve been saying for years that he’s been one of our most valuable pieces. The guy’s incredible," I'd love to buy it. But it feels like there's still so much more to round out.

Castro just turned 22 in May. He's a relative child on the scene. So it's eye-popping that he's already in the majors and having bypassed Class AAA Indianapolis along the way and having paused for only 53 games with Class AA Altoona. But those are also the red flags in the equation: He's struck out 23.3% of the time in the minors, a rate that's never really fluctuated, and he's walked only 7.3% of the time. Those numbers will need to come closer to converging at some point in his career, or he'll be all-or-nothing, which doesn't work all that well for an everyday player.

I know, I know, everything in baseball's all-or-nothing in 2021, but that likely won't be the case for long in light of recent machinations to restore more contact to the sport. And Castro's chance of succeeding amplifies if he can achieve that.

This isn't a knock. Again, he's so young. And already so exciting. But there's no reason to not hope for even more.

• Including the series finale in San Francisco in which Adam Frazier was traded, the Pirates are 0-3 and have been outscored, 22-4. And this after those two uplifting wins out there of the majors' best team.

This will be the line of demarcation on this season. And just wait until Richard Rodriguez and other pitchers get shipped out this week, as well.

Rough, rough two months ahead.