During a conversation at his locker Wednesday, Steelers safety Miles Killebrew described himself as a “serial optimist.”

“I always say, ‘This is our year. I don’t see anything that’s telling me otherwise this year. I think we are going to be a great team,” the special teams captain said this week.

After eight years without a playoff victory, one might think that Killebrew’s self-diagnosed “serial” optimism may be at Dexter Morgan levels if he really believes the Steelers are going to make a postseason run. But the 10th-year veteran is convinced of the potential.

“There is a consistent feeling of cohesion,” Killebrew said. “I can’t look anywhere where you say there are guys going against the grain. We are all headed in the same direction. It feels like there is a momentum that hasn’t been as tangible in the past.”

Killebrew is not alone in his hope.

“Throughout camp, having a lot of team camaraderie — guys building relationships with each other — was huge,” linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “All the new guys have bought into the culture of what we do. All those guys are jelling with us. It’s just exciting to see it come together in Week 1.”

Even Aaron Rodgers, who took a long time to decide if playing one more year in Pittsburgh was going to be a worthwhile venture for him with two decades already under his belt, is giving good reviews of where the team is as Game 1 approaches Sunday in New York.

“I’m happy I’m here. Very happy. Really enjoying my little corner of the locker room, and then my quarterback room, and in the big room with the offense, getting to know those guys. Being a conscious observer out at practice, and taking everything in,” Rodgers said Thursday. “I’m enjoying everything Pittsburgh-related and excited about the season to start.”

The intangibles meshing is nice, but the more germane part of the discussion regarding those “new guys” is how they can help in terms of an upgrade between the whistles. Regarding the quotes from Highsmith and Killebrew, how those personalities intersect Monday through Saturday is important. But will they be good enough on Sundays to elevate the Steelers above their perpetual 9-to-10-win, one-and-done in the playoffs existence?

“I’m generally a confident person anyway. I see them work every day. That daily work leads to in-stadium performance. Do I have confidence about what they’re capable of in-stadium? I would be making it up. None of us have seen our guys in-stadium,” head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “I think there is some speculation and not knowing this time of year. You can hide under your desk or be confident. I choose to base my posture on what I’ve seen from a prep standpoint, and I’ve been really comfortable with what I’ve seen.”

All those new components include four quarterbacks, two running backs, a multi-million dollar wide receiver, a new tight end, a pair of rookie defensive linemen, and at least five new faces expected to contribute in the secondary.

In most cases, their level of time spent on the field during the preseason was minimal.

“I’m completely comfortable. We do a lot of work not only in-stadium, but in team development. I’m comfortable with what I’ve seen and how we divide the labor up and our plans in that area, certainly,” Tomlin insisted.

There’s a large percentage of Steelers fans who may suggest comfort is the organization’s biggest problem right now. It seems like, unless there is a cataclysmic season of 12 or 13 losses, ownership, the front office and the head coach are validated in their approach.

The counter to that direction in 2025 has been to change the roster. Unfortunately, if the brand names are different, yet the ingredients are the same, it may not matter.

If Russell Wilson was Coke, Rodgers sure seems like Pepsi. George Pickens was Burger King, DK Metcalf is McDonald’s. Najee Harris may have been a Ford pickup truck. Let’s hope Kaleb Johnson is at least a Chevy with a little more highway speed on the open road.

For many years, the Steelers have been great at selling theory. One year, that theory was the notion of replacing Ryan Shazier by committee with hybrid safeties and free-agent linebackers. In 2022, there was a theory that Matt Canada’s offense was going to get more out of Mitch Trubisky than the Bears ever could. There was even a theory that Kendrick Green would be OK as a starting NFL center during his rookie year.

They are good at selling it, because as consumers, we are always willing to buy it.

Now the theory is, this aging future Hall of Fame QB will work out better than the one they had last year, four tight ends is better than a second wide receiver, and overhauling the back third of the defense will make the first two levels significantly better.

If you listen long enough — like, for the past six months — it can start to make sense.

That’s because when it comes to a football team that hasn’t truly bottomed out since 2003, there’s some serial optimism in all of us.

Mine occasionally bubbles to the surface, but it’s usually much more suppressed than Killebrew’s.

I’ve got the Steelers at 9-8 or (best case) 10-7 again. I don’t see a postseason run beyond the first round.

However, this team should know that most of us who are serial realists in the fanbase would love to be proven wrong.

Feel free to do so in 2025.

WATCH: Tim Benz and Mike DeCourcy host the regular season debut of the Mike’s Beer Bar “Friday Football Show.”

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