Kovacevic: Imagine Steelers emerging, post-Ben, with all this QB depth

It was just another Tuesday morning in the shadow of the South Side Slopes, but for the blaring of football horns and football whistles and one football player's rap playlist, pumped through a pair of booming speakers by the sideline, drowning out the trains chugging along the nearby hillside shelf.

Oh, and but for Mike Sullivan, coach of the Steelers' quarterbacks, barking out orders to a quartet of relatively qualified dudes not named Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger.

And yeah, that's when it might've hit me.

No, not that Ben's done. I'm sure I felt that when everyone else did, with that loving last half-lap around Heinz Field.

I'm talking about what all's been done ever since.

Because there they were at the team's official opening of OTAs, all four of them, aligned left to right in an order that'd prove prescient -- Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Chris Oladokun -- in facing Sullivan. And once the latter barked out the order, when all four dropped back, footballs in hand, and flowed through a synchronous, six-second set of motions aimed a little more than foundational footwork ... I flipped the iPhone into photo mode to capture the moment:

Not because I was expecting some highlight to happen, even within an event as blah as the opening of OTAs. But, rather, because it'd finally, fully penetrated with me what management had pulled off these past few months: They've replaced Ben in bulk.

They've added a former No. 2 overall pick in Trubisky, one whose individual achievements -- two playoffs in four years as starter, his franchise's first QB in the Pro Bowl since Jim McMahon in 1986 -- bely being associated with the Bears. They've added another first-rounder in Pickett, whose background in this very same back yard couldn't have been appreciated more by any other NFL evaluators. And they retained a capable, experienced determined NFL backup in Rudolph, who still sees himself, not without cause, as still not having had a sustained shot at starting.

And they culled all that at a cumulative cost right in the range of Ben's final salary of $14 million.

Why'd it take me this long?

Honestly, I'm not sure it did. It's not like I hadn't processed the information. I've actually written and spoken about it, and at length. But there's a difference between discussing it and having it hit me, which it did right then and there.

And I don't think I could love it more. 

There's quality, as already referenced. As much depth of pedigree, I'd argue, since Terry Bradshaw's early days, when he had Terry Hanratty and Joe Gilliam either snapping at his heels or occasionally overtaking him.  

There's quantity, which, while hardly guaranteeing any of the three will emerge to succeed at Ben's level -- there's a reason generational talents are called that -- it certainly improves the odds.

And there's this, too:

Right. The confidence. The poise.

"Every year I've been here, there's been competition," he'd reply. "I'm approaching this the same way I have for the last four years. Every single day, every single rep, I'm trying to put my best foot forward."

And when I asked what that meant, he came back, "There are some things that are new to the offense post-Ben, and we'll see what concepts we prefer over others. And leadership. If you look at our offense, we are a young offense. It's going to need leadership, and I'm excited to do that. ... Everything I want is still in front of me. I still have an opportunity to compete, to be a starter. I’m not disappointed."

All three exude that, and I'm not sharing pleasantries here. I've reported as much about Rudolph since he first took to one of these fields for rookie minicamp years ago and could be heard booming instructions to veteran offensive linemen who almost couldn't believe their ears. Pickett's reputation preceded him in this context. And I don't get any different impression from Trubisky, who I obviously wouldn't know as well.

I did have a brief chat with Trubisky on this day, away from any formal setting, and can share that he came across as genuine, passionate and every bit as energetic as the other two when it comes to his aims in Pittsburgh.

How'll it play out?

Well, the initial signs of that were evident everywhere here. That order I cited wound up holding through drills, front to finish, with Trubisky and Rudolph splitting first-team reps and Pickett and the seventh-rounder Oladokun taking what's left.

Now, when I asked Mike Tomlin to read something, anything into a potential pecking order, the response was predictable:

"No, we're just working right now, teaching and learning," he answered. "There'll be plenty of time for that. I understand the nature of your question. But nobody's going to win a job or lose a job out here in shorts in May. So, pardon me if I don't give you what you're looking for."

That was plenty good enough.

At the same time, it's next to impossible for a football coaching staff to set up three sets of first-team reps. And the stage set here is that the two veterans will compete at one level, Pickett at another. That doesn't mean Pickett wouldn't or couldn't elevate if he earns it. It just means this is where he'll start out.

I'm totally fine with that. Speaking of Pickett specifically, without reading too much into Tomlin's football "in shorts," he flashed his talent at times on this day but often did so while breaking from scripts and, in turn, hanging onto the ball forever. That's cool to watch, and it drew a few hoots from his Pitt buddies that came out to observe, but it won't mean a whit once T.J. Watt's moving at more than an engaged-walkthrough pace.

But if it's balance that's sought, here's some video of all three that I shot:

Look, I did promise that these events aren't exactly revealing.

Let there be learning. Let there be growing. Let there be a fair competition for what's already been a more-than-fair effort to plant these seeds.

This is fun. And fascinating. 

• Omar Khan as the new GM doesn't do any more for me than it did in the months leading up to his apparent selection late Tuesday night. And for the same reason: He's a cap guy, first and foremost, and it's a scary dynamic having the scout/evaluator guy -- Andy Weidl, formerly of the Eagles, who'll be his assistant -- answering upward.

Why scary?

Well, in my experience of covering sports executives, there's invariably a romanticism, if not outright jealousy among those who aren't scouts toward those who are. And Khan, in particular, has been angling for a GM job anywhere in the NFL for so long that it's impossible to imagine he hasn't felt that his shortfall has been rooted in his strength.

We'll see. Open-minded, as always.

• The one part of the process that appears beyond reproach is that the Steelers went through 16 original interview candidates, six second-wave finalists, and even went through Khan and Brandon Hunt extensively. This could've been a simple stroll to the next cubicle. It wasn't.

• Imagine being Hunt, being right by the side of Tomlin and Kevin Colbert for a decade, and then being left out in the dust. Tough, tough business.

• A minute and change I spent with Chuks Okorafor:

• If that didn't give it away, this was the first time reporters were allowed in the Steelers' locker room -- anywhere -- since the pandemic's outset.

True story: Tomlin walks into the locker room after his availability, sees me standing there and says, "Wait, locker room’s open now?"

Me: "Yep. First time."

So Tomlin walks over to Christian Kuntz’s lonely stall and says, ‘Well, come on over and interview our long snapper! Come on!’ 

I didn’t. But it was a good laugh for all concerned.

• Who did or didn't show up?

First thing to say is that OTAs are 100% voluntary. And that's not just a line. That's negotiated in a labor contract. It's fair to observe.

Second thing to say is that reporters are bound by the same practice-reporting guidelines as in the regular season, which means that we can share only what we can confirm independently with one of the participants. So, for example, even though I saw Mason Cole taking all the first-team snaps at center, it wasn't until I could confirm exactly that with Cole himself, that I could let our readers know.

Third thing is that Stephon Tuitt wasn't here, as confirmed by Cam Heyward. Cam assured that he expects Tuitt to be back and to play, adding that Tuitt's currently at his home in Indiana.

I'll add the following: I saw Tuitt's stall, and it's got a ton of his stuff in there, anything but abandoned. I've heard that Tuitt's away only because he's completing his degree at Notre Dame -- as Jerome Bettis just did -- and that has to be done on campus in South Bend.

Between that and seeing Tyson Alualu healthy and happy again, bodes very well for the defensive line.

• Cole told me he's "most comfortable" at center, though emphasizing he'll play everywhere the Vikings played him, which was all three interior positions.

As for the rest, left to right, it's Dan Moore, a duel between Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson, Cole, James Daniels and Okorafor. I'm picking Green, if only because he seems to have had some hold on Tomlin from the day he was drafted, whereas Dotson's effect on the coaches has been the opposite for a while.

• Najee Harris' legs are now redwoods. And I don't think it's my imagination. He's looking like a cross between Earl Campbell and Barry Foster.

• Nothing brighter on this day than T.J.'s smile. The man loves the sport.

• Expect Minkah Fitzpatrick to take the T.J. approach to training camp, by the way, if his extension isn't done by Latrobe. 

• Anyone else feeling for-real hope? Or even phony, manufactured hope?

• Heading back to PNC Park today to cover some ball. 

Thanks for reading my football stuff!