The first piece of the post-Ben Roethlisberger puzzle, upon reflection, was either Najee Harris' selection at 24th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft or, months earlier, Art Rooney's public admonition that the Steelers needed to rediscover running the ball.
Me, I'll opt for the latter.
See, when the owner pipes up, no matter how long it takes, no matter how many other players or playbooks pass through, ultimately, the directive that led directly into the decision to take Harris so much sooner than most teams dare to take a running back these days, that wasn't about to fade. Not with Ben on the way out. Not with Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and that awesome line long gone. Not with the Killer Bs having been replaced by ... I don't know the Killer Lantern Flies, or however anyone might characterize the Kendrick Green era of big boys being squashed at the point of attack.
It took a while, huh?
And even now, with Harris, Pat Freiermuth and Dan Moore as the lone starters from that palpably pivotal Class of '21, it's hardly complete: Ben's retirement turned into by a turnstile for three other quarterbacks, and now the two new guys, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, are on final-year contracts. Multiple wide receivers couldn't become a true No. 1, and now Diontae Johnson's been traded without being replaced. Tons of resources were poured into that line, highlighted by trading up to draft Broderick Jones, and now another tackle remains an openly stated priority. Mason Cole became the latest to make a mess at center, forever an anchor position in center, and now, uh, Nick Herbig's atop that depth chart.
Crazy thought I've got, though: I genuinely feel that the next three days, housing the 2024 NFL Draft that begins tonight at 8 p.m., grafted onto the still-glorious firing of Matt Canada and the far-from-glamorous-but-hey-he's-not-Canada hiring of Arthur Smith, could represent the firming of this offensive foundation for the next ... wow, decade or so?
Hear me out.
Yeah, I get that the quarterbacks are a variable, and the biggest at that. But I also envision that the likeliest scenario from either Wilson or Fields being successful with the Steelers is that one would be kept. If it's Wilson, who's 35, he's already struck me as the sort who'd love to seek out his sunset in Pittsburgh after tumultuous finishes in Seattle and Denver. If it's Fields, who's a relative football babe at 25 despite his three years in Chicago Quarterback Hell, then he'd finally have found a friendly huddle to call home. And either way, Omar Khan will have the cap space to carry that starter over since nobody's been paid at the position around here since Ben.
As for the rest, I'm all in on addressing the needs aggressively. As in, via this draft that counts among its a crazy class of offensive tackles and the now-common overflow of wide receivers. And as in, trading, if necessary, draft capital to address wide receiver, which I can't repeat often enough sits there as the sore-thumb need without Johnson.
If that's an outright star like the 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk for, say, a second-rounder -- and no more -- awesome. If that's a former Wilson target in the Broncos' Courtland Sutton for, say, a late-rounder -- and no more -- that's all right, too. These are the two names to arise most prominently in reliable reporting, but that doesn't mean they'd be the only ones available. The draft brews a powerful potion for football executives, who can be tempted and/or rushed in ways they wouldn't be the other 362 days of a year.
Let me word it this way: Does anyone anywhere take seriously the notion that the Steelers' first huddle in September will see George Pickens and one or two kids at wide receiver? Or Pickens and all those No. 4 types they've been collecting?
Come on.
From there, I'll posit, the real cementing could follow.
Smith's approach, as everyone around here's learned by now, is to go heavy. Well, if the Steelers go the increasingly anticipated route of an offensive tackle and/or center at No. 20 overall tonight, they'll have allowed themselves the leeway to either chase that unchosen center in the second round, in addition to amassing the first of optimally two wide receivers. And if one of the hottest of the early receivers happens to fall ... hey, best laid plans 'n' at.
Which, I suppose, would allow the defense to pounce on the Day 3 scraps Saturday.
Which, I further suppose, would be the last time that scenario would unfold for the foreseeable future.
This, my friends, is my point: The defense just has to step back to the front of the drafting line again after a half-decade of settling. If not for the blessing of the Bears' idiocy in the Chase Claypool trade, there'd never be a Joey Porter Jr. at No. 32. If not for the blessing of the Dolphins' idiocy, there'd never be a Minkah Fitzpatrick as, essentially, a first-rounder. But otherwise, since the Steelers' own idiocy in drafting up for Devin Bush, it's been largely offense at these events. And with Cam Heyward nearing the end, with T.J. Watt probably at a career peak, with other holes having popped open along the way ... yeah.
Get this done first. Really done.
• Here we go, as they say. I'll cover the event from the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Chris Halicke will be a huge help, watching the big board and sharing his own reporting and insights.
• Thanks for reading.
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