Kovacevic: Still worried about corners? Because Steelers sure aren't

If prioritizing a list of non-health concerns for these 2021 Steelers, at least before this training camp, I'd probably put forth this as a top five:

1. Offensive line
2. Alex Highsmith
3. Outside/slot corner
4. Ben Roethlisberger's deep ball
5. Did I forget offensive line?

So, after a week and change of camp, it feels safe to set aside the O-line, which has yet to take a single snap intact in any form. Same goes for anything related to Ben for the same reasons. And Highsmith's been nothing less than the team's premier performer in the very early going, spanking all comers in all drills, so he'll earn a reprieve here, as well.

The reason for the slash mark in the corner concern is simple: Cam Sutton's going to have one of those covered, both figuratively and literally. He's that good in sticking to his man and, in fact, he'll likely represent an upgrade over Steven Nelson if he works the outside opposite Joe Haden, or over Mike Hilton if he stays inside.

At least on coverage. And that's the rub.

Because even if Sutton's his best self on the outside, what's still missing in the equation is ... well, Hilton himself. And since he's not about to be brought back from the Bengals, and since neither Mike Tomlin nor Keith Butler is eager -- or even interested -- in rewriting all those specialty entries in the defensive playbook that called for No. 28 to do things that only No. 28 could do, the optimal solution, in their eyes, is to replace precisely that role. You know, blitzing, closing hard on running lanes, hitting with authority, etc. Way more than just coverage.

Back when both Bud Dupree and Hilton were lost to free agency, I posited that the latter would be the bigger loss. Not because Hilton's a more impactful football player than Dupree. He isn't. But because of the specific value within the Steelers' scheme. And this pretty much bears that out.

So, who's up for being Hilton 2.0?

There are two formal candidates: Antoine Brooks Jr., the Steelers' sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Maryland, and Arthur Maulet, a fifth-year vet who started five games last season for the Jets. But to watch the alignments both here at Heinz Field and a week ago on the South Side, where Brooks has been running nonstop with the 1s, it couldn't be clearer that the coaches would love to see him embrace the opportunity being presented to him.

He's done that, within obvious limitations of early camp. He's been visible, dynamic, and when he pounced on an errant Ben pass for an interception, Ben was the first over to congratulate him.

As a general rule, I avoid asking athletes about wanting/hoping to be like other athletes, but this seemed like it should be an exception, so I went right ahead and asked Brooks to what extent he wants/hopes to be like Mike. And his answer ... oh, just watch:

I didn't see that coming, either. But hey, good for him. Know how to get ahead.

He grasps the significance of the role Hilton played here -- "Big shoes to fill ... clown shoes,” he'd say with a huge smile -- before telling me, “I look at Mike’s game all the time. He's one of the best blitzers that touched a Steelers uniform. He taught me a lot while he was here, and I appreciate him. I call him my OG. I appreciate him being a big-brother figure to me when I was just really trying to learn the defense. Especially the blitzing, the physicality ... Mike did it all.”

To that end, Brooks, a naturally thick, physical safety in college, dropped between 10-15 pounds this offseason on his 5-foot-11 frame and is now below 200 pounds. He acknowledged that was to add quickness, also in Hilton's mold. 

Will he pull it off?

Impossible to say, of course. Hilton showed an uncanny knack for flat-out making plays from his first drills at Saint Vincent College and caught everyone's attention despite being undrafted. It's not a common path, much less one to trace. But Brooks has already passed his first test by having Tomlin acknowledge that he fits the "fearless" profile needed, as he did a week ago, and moving atop the depth chart.

Ideally, and the way this is shaping up, Brooks will man the slot in the nickel defense, Sutton to the outside. For the dime, Sutton can slide inside and have the outside taken by James Pierre, who's also off to a fine start here.

Still concerned?

Yep, me, too. But it at least makes more sense why Tomlin and Kevin Colbert didn't lift a pinky finger to replace Nelson, even while addressing other apparently obvious needs.

• To clarify, all five items on that list remain concerns. Including the O-line twice.

By the way, it bears monitoring that Rashaad Coward, a fourth-year pro, was lined up at left guard on the first team, not Kevin Dotson. I reported exclusively a month ago on this site that the coaches were displeased with his offseason. Some incorrectly interpreted that to mean they felt he wasn't in shape, though no such thing was expressed and, actually, no details were offered.

Dotson was fully cleared to participate in drills yesterday after a minor injury, but he did so with the second team.

Like I said, it bears monitoring.

Once more: The best performers need to start on that offensive line. Not the potential best performers. The best ones right this bleeping second.

• I've enjoyed watching Dwayne Haskins release a football, the velocity that follows and, occasionally, accuracy. Everything else makes me nervous. There just isn't a feel of commanding the field. But then, I don't get the latter with Mason Rudolph, either.

No, Haskins won't be the backup. There's too much else involved in that. But he isn't far from dispelling any notion that he'd be cut in favor of Josh Dobbs. That won't happen. What Haskins offers isn't wisely discarded.

• The very fact that I'd have an impossible time scripting out all the variations I've seen to the Matt Canada offense -- not that I'd be allowed, per NFL regulations -- should speak volumes to the difference between this and the Randy Fichtner paint-by-numbers version. So many alignments, looks, motions and apparent options. But more than anything, there's imagination and purpose to the wide receiver routes. Guys get open for a reason.

Understand that Canada's not trying to trick reporters with all this newness. This really exists, and it'll really be utilized.

• Major League Baseball's beyond broken.

Not just because the Dodgers can casually ramp up their payroll to $307 million in a single swoop -- second-highest are the Red Sox, by the way, at $205 million -- but more so because one can read dozens accounts of this trade from the national media and not find a solitary mention of what I just shared. Nor any mention of the inherent unfairness of a system that favors franchises for nothing more than being based in bigger cities with bigger revenue streams.

I hope the Dodgers win it all again. I do. I hope they sweep right through everyone. I hope they don't lose another single game for the rest of 2021.

Not sure if anyone might notice then, either, but it'd be a perfect lead-in to labor hell this winter.

• Only a salary cap system solves this. Exactly like the one the NFL, NHL and NBA use. 

And for those late to this particular discussion, a cap system inherently comes with a floor. The latter never needs to be mentioned. There's a $20 million range between the cap and floor in all three of the NFL, NHL and NBA, and there's hugely expanded revenue sharing to ensure everyone can -- as they must -- spend within that range.

Also, repeating this with gusto, both Bob Nutting and Travis Williams are passionately in favor of a cap system. Among the more bizarre false narratives out there regarding the Pirates is that they're opposed to a cap. That's insane. In addition to allowing the team to compete on a fair level, they'd also make more money than they do now. Ask any owner in any of the three other leagues I've cited, including those of the Steelers and Penguins, if they make more in a cap system than they would without one.

• The trade deadline's today at 4 p.m. Good luck only to the Dodgers.

• All of the above notwithstanding, the Pirates' performance has been embarrassing in losing all four games since Adam Frazier was traded in the eighth inning Sunday in San Francisco and getting outscored, 34-4. I get what Derek Shelton said last night at PNC Park, after the 12-0 loss to the Brewers, about players looking forward to today's deadline bringing "some finality and to know who is going to be on our club for the next 60 games." But there's no excuse for having your brains beaten out all week long at this level.

• All I've got on Ron Hextall's latest inexplicable addition, the signing of bottom-six former Anaheim forward Danton Heinen to one year at $1.1 million, is this: He puts the Penguins that much closer to not being able to address their goaltending or to replace Cody Ceci, easily their Nos. 1 and 2 needs in that order.

Also this: Heinen isn't as good as Freddy Gaudreau, who Hextall allowed to skate away to St. Paul for virtually identical pay at $1.2 million.

I'm not getting this. It's becoming tiring even trying to get it.

All we heard from Hextall, Brian Burke, Mike Sullivan and even the locker-room leadership was how strongly everyone felt about the roster as it was. And justifiably so, goaltending aside. But all we've seen since is key subtractions followed by odd additions.

• Unsolicited and no doubt unwanted advice: Stop all of this Heinen-type weirdness, and at least research what'd be involved in acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury. Not for any sappy, sentimental reason, but because it's so spectacularly obvious a solution to the roster's ongoing greatest need.

Seriously, man, make some sense of this.