Tim Benz: How Mike Tomlin is putting the 'O' in the Steelers' offense — from optimistic to oblivious

While listening to head coach Mike Tomlin describe the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “O” on Tuesday, plenty of “O” words came to mind.

When discussing Russell Wilson’s taking over the offense as the new starting quarterback for 2024, Tomlin sounded optimistic.

Rightfully so.

There is at least some reason to believe that the nine-time Pro Bowler has enough left in the tank that he could be better than the Kenny Pickett-Mitch Trubisky combination that wobbled the Steelers to 7-7 before Mason Rudolph’s three-week magic carpet ride led the club to the postseason.

“I don’t know if there’s a translation component of it. It’s just who he is,” Tomlin said of Wilson. “You don’t have the type of resume he has, and have done it at the level he has, for the length of time he has, without bringing some unique traits and approaches to business.”

For Tomlin, it’s not just the intangibles. It’s what Wilson still has left in that 35-year-old right arm.

“He’s got arm strength. He’s got pinpoint accuracy. He can drop the ball in your front right shirt pocket,” Tomlin said of Wilson’s deep-ball capabilities.

Indeed, Wilson appears to still have those clubs in his bag. Tomlin has every reason to think that this QB will — at a minimum — give his offense a more representative chance to win on a game-to-game basis than he was rolling out the first 14 weeks of last season.

However, when it comes to the topic of who Wilson will be throwing to (aside from George Pickens), that’s when Tomlin sounded oblivious.

Since the Brandon Aiyuk quest never materialized, the Steelers were unable to materially replace Diontae Johnson after his trade to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson this offseason.

On Tuesday, I asked Tomlin if the franchise found the wide receiver marketplace to be more challenging to navigate than anticipated when the deal with the Panthers was consummated in March.

“Not at all,” Tomlin replied. “There is a plethora of receivers, not only in the draft but in free agency. You can look at that position in the top three rounds of the draft over the last five years, and it gives you an indication of the amount of talent and the readiness of that talent in recent years. So we were really comfortable with it and not overly concerned about it, to be quite honest with you.”

Really? If Pickens gets hurt, Van Jefferson is the best receiver on the field. He’s a solid No. 3. It’s a lot to ask of him to be a legit No. 2. Requiring him to potentially be the team’s top wide receiver option is just flat-out unfair.

Tomlin, though, seems unphased.

“We’re really excited about Roman Wilson (who) we got in the third round,” Tomlin said. “We’ve always done a nice job of acquiring receiver talent, and not necessarily in the first round, and I just think that speaks to the depth and the readiness of the position.”

Sure. Except that the major knock on Wilson was that he might be too slight to hold up in the NFL, and he got hurt being tackled on one of the first plays of padded practices this summer and may not be available or fully up to speed for the season-opener Sunday in Atlanta.

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Not to mention that Wilson may be more of a slot contributor than an every-down running partner for Pickens.

Then there is the small matter of the inexperienced, banged-up offensive line. That’s where Tomlin sounded somewhat obstinate.

When asked to clarify if second-year tackle Broderick Jones was going to play the right side or the left side to open the year, Tomlin refused to give a direct answer.

“I made no determinations regarding that,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, he’s worked a lot at right. But, again, we’re going to continue to watch that as we progress through the week because the versatility has been an asset for him and us.”

If that variable is solely dependent on whether rookie Troy Fautanu is fully healthy enough to start on the right side, so be it. But, if that is the case, then Jones should have gotten more first-team reps on the left side throughout the offseason.

If Jones remains on the right side and Fautanu isn’t starting when healthy enough to play, that means the franchise is just continuing its infatuation with Dan Moore Jr. as the left tackle despite drafting his potential replacement two years in a row.

I wouldn’t even know how to respond to that. At that point, it’s just Tomlin being stubborn.

Or, to continue with the theme, Tomlin is being obtuse.

One thing is for sure, though. Given the Steelers’ difficult schedule, unless Tomlin’s offense makes major strides from last year and this summer’s preseason performance, a few other “O” words leap to mind.

Like out of the playoffs.

Listen: Joe Rutter and Tim Benz discuss this year’s start to the Steelers’ regular season in Atlanta and Mike Tomlin’s first press conference of the year.