Kovacevic: For Steelers, this draft should usher in culture of competition

In an offseason of as much change as this perpetually unchanging franchise could ever endure, maybe the most seismic of all is that the Steelers have morphed from having three Canton-caliber centers spanning half a century ... to no NFL-tested centers at all in 2021 ... to an apparently open four-man competition coming this summer:

• James Daniels
• Mason Cole
• Kendrick Green
• J.C. Hassenauer

Heck, I might be missing a few.

And who among all these centers, I asked Mike Tomlin on this summery Monday afternoon at Heinz Field, might be the default starter? Or the outright favorite, for that matter?

"We're going to let it play out," the head coach replied as part of the annual press conference he and Kevin Colbert conduct in advance of the NFL Draft. "It's good to have position flexibility. We've got some guys who are capable. It's important to have not only a starter-capable guy but also some depth, and we just feel good about the list of candidates that we have."

Translation: They'll compete.

Oh, it won't be a fair fight. Daniels and Cole won't be getting mega-money to stand on the sideline. I'll be surprised bordering on stunned if one of those two isn't delivering the bulk of the snaps on Day 1 of OTAs.

But they'll compete. They'll practice and otherwise prepare for the season fully aware that a poor performance could cost a job.

Quite the concept, huh?

And quite the contrast to Green, a third-rounder out of Illinois who'd barely seen any center duty in college, being anointed the starter by Tomlin, bequeathed Maurkice Pouncey's No. 53 and the whole deal. It wasn't a plan. It was a hope. And it backfired in the worst way, as Green wound up looking lost most of his rookie season and, eventually, replaced by a journeyman in Hassenauer.

It happened at other positions, too. The rest of the offensive line. Inside linebacker. Nickel back. And it can't happen again anywhere.

So let's start here: Whether the Steelers do or don't select a quarterback in the first round Thursday night, whether they do or don't target Malik Willis, whether they do or don't move up from No. 20 to ensure he's there -- and I wouldn't bet against any of that, from all I'm seeing and hearing -- there needs to be a bona fide competition at the sport's most important position.

Which is to say, the next time anyone associated with the franchise decrees that Mitch Trubisky's the starter will be the first.

Awesome. Keep it that way. Even once he's logging the majority of first-team reps in Latrobe -- and he will -- keep it so the door's open more than a millimeter for Mason Rudolph to force his way through.

No, I'm not making a prediction here. Just trying to keep it real. I believe Trubisky comes with a ceiling he never had a chance to show in Chicago's quarterback graveyard, and I believe that any quarterback picked No. 2 overall just five years ago -- ahead of Patrick Mahomes, no less -- deserves a second look. But I also know that Trubisky just carried a clipboard for a full winter in Buffalo, just as I know that Rudolph had a first-round grade hung on him by the same men who'll be charged with making this call.

Keep it open. Keep it competitive. And that goes for Willis, Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder or any other quarterback in whom a high pick might be invested. Multiple dogs, one bone, and all that other Tomlin-ist lingo needs to resonate in more than words.

This is the first year in nearly two full decades that any decision will have to be made at quarterback. The impact involved in getting this right is massive in scope. And infinitely more important than being right about any preconceived notions.

Same approach goes for the O-line.

It's still in flux despite all the cash that was dropped on Daniels, Cole and in keeping Chuks Okorafor. All of that's undone if Kevin Dotson disappoints management again, as he did last summer. Or if Green's handed Dotson's job. So it's encouraging to hear Tomlin tackle my question as he did.

Same for the backup running backs. 

I've little use for Benny Snell, even less for Anthony McFarland, and it sure didn't sound like Tomlin's enthused with them, either, when he said Monday of those two, "Their resumes speak for themselves. Benny's been capable as a backup runner, capable as a special-teamer. McFarland less so. Less availability there. But they'll define their roles with how they perform against competition, competition that's here and maybe competition that's not here."

Ow. Rent, don't buy, kids.

Same for the defensive line. 

Given yet another opportunity to acknowledge absolutely anything about Stephon Tuitt's status -- even though he's known to be working daily out of the team's South Side facility -- Tomlin instead chose this: "No updates, but he's doing well." I offer this with respect to the Tuitt family's tragedy, because it doesn't matter what we know about this. It does matter a ton what the Steelers know. And if they don't know -- I mean really know -- they can't hold their breath till August. What I'm saying is this: Don't limit Isaiahh Loudermilk in any way.

Same for ... strong safety?

Well, I'm not sure how else to interpret this tepid-sounding endorsement from Colbert of Terrell Edmunds, brought back this week at a year and $2.5 million, when the GM was asked if his only previously identified position without an NFL starter had now been filled: "We were open and honest with Terrell throughout the whole process, as he was with us. We didn't know where the market would be, and he didn't. ... Fortunately, he's coming back to us, and he gives us that 22nd starter, so to speak. And when we say that, you know, I want to emphasize, we're not saying we're good enough. We're saying we have NFL veteran starters at each position. And the draft process will provide great competition for that, but it isn't like any of these young men that we draft will come in and be ordained a starter."

The less ordaining, the better.

• I've got no issue with picking Willis, presuming it comes to that. He's got traits that can't be coached, and that's always welcome in this sport that, more than any other, places a premium on physical superiority. He's also got, by all accounts, the character and composition to be coachable.

But my goodness, better be sure. Because an investment in the quarterback of the future this year should preclude another one next year. If not the year after that, as well.

• Most complete set of Willis' Liberty University highlights I could find:

Yeah, there's plenty there.

• For countless reasons, it'd be sweet to see a wide receiver within the Steelers' top two picks, almost regardless of the order given the perennial depth of that particular class. 

It's all right that Colbert considers Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool to be NFL starters -- they are -- but there isn't a competent wide receiver corps in the league that isn't comprised of four performers. As opposed to 1.5, which is how it tends to break down when it comes to Claypool's inconsistency. And behind those two, there's a whole bunch of Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski.

Make no mistake: It's a position of need. No masking that.

• In this category, I'm partial to Penn State's Jahan Dotson, because this:

See all those deep routes? Over the middle? The explosion? The leaping ability? The sure hands?

Yeah, one could compose a highlights collection of anyone, but that's got the look of a fine fit for what this offense has long lacked. And still does.

• Why would anyone anywhere ever broach a contract extension for Johnson?

The Steelers have given out second NFL contracts to exactly two wide receivers in recent memory -- Antonio Brown and Hines Ward -- and he isn't in the solar system of either. Besides, he's signed for 2022. He'll make $2.8 million in the final year of his four-year rookie contract and, within that, he'll have every opportunity to prove he's worthy of a second contract, here or elsewhere.

If he isn't, whatever. There'll be another dozen wide receivers available in the next draft.

• For the life of me, I don't get denigrating Edmunds. He did everything that was asked of him in 2021, including sliding closer to the line of scrimmage when none of the inside linebackers could complete a routine tackle. He even added the first dash of splash of his career, with two interceptions, six passes defensed and eight tackles for losses.

Oh, and he's been a terrific partner for Minkah Fitzpatrick, who's next in line for a star-level contract and benefits from being able to roam free and not worry about the dirty work that Edmunds handles.

Oh, and he's still only 25 years old!

And that player's sitting there for $2.5 million?

Really, help me out here.

• Mark down -- right this second -- any and all assessments about the state of the roster entering the 2022 season. Then, once the draft's done Saturday, revisit in full.

It's fun. And telling.

• On a related note: My brain still isn't processing the Steelers running through that tunnel without Ben Roethlisberger this fall. Not one bit.

• Thanks to Burt Lauten and everyone in the team's media relations for taking every possible step to restore access to reporters. This press conference was the first the team's held where masks weren't required -- Tomlin and Colbert sat at a desk roughly 15 feet from our front row -- and they'll be similarly available throughout the draft. With full access to players on the way once that time of the football year arrives.

The Pirates and Major League Baseball have been equally excellent in this regard.

Check the garage for the exception.

• Many, many thoughts here about Colbert appearing in this setting for the final time, one that's always best told the tale of his extraordinary relationship with Tomlin, but I'll defer to Dale Lolley, who's got a special piece brewing on this subject for later this week.

• If anyone's missing our in-season football coverage, here's me and Dale atop the rotunda: