The key, according to Smith, is not just picking the brain of the players in regard to what they do well, but asking others who have worked with them in the past, as well.
In the case of Rodgers, he could talk to LaFleur, current Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzani, who was with the quarterback in 2023 with the Jets, or quarterbacks coach Tom Arth, who spent an offseason with the Packers in 2006, Rodgers' second NFL season.
In the case of Metcalf, he needs only call up Brown, Metcalf's teammate at Ole Miss.
"I've talked to a lot of people, just as Aaron probably talked to a lot of people too," Smith said. "It's pretty normal with any player you've had. Same thing with DK. I had AJ Brown. They're good buddies and college teammates. And he'd done his homework. I'd done my homework. That's why you need to do it on the front end when you're studying the draft and know the league. Take opinions from everybody. But you know, circumstances change, and you get to the point where you really get to know somebody, and we'll spend a ton of time together. I'm looking forward to it."
The point is to build an offense capable of winning as many games as possible, whether that's by scoring 30 points per game or 20.
The Steelers improved in Smith's first season as offensive coordinator, going from scoring 17.9 points per game to 22.4.
But the bottom line is winning. Smith doesn't care how the offense helps generate wins. He just wants the wins.
"On Sunday, when it's 17-16 and you get the win, but you're chasing more," Smith said. "We're trying to be the best version, and we want to be the most explosive offensive league. And we have got a lot of work to do, but that's the goal every week. I'm not going to feel great if we lose a game 42-35 and we have 500 yards. That's not wired that way. I'm not one of those guys that's big about stats. Oh, we did our job.
"It's a team game. It's the ultimate team game. You want to be explosive every year. We've got to improve as an offense, and it'll be a long journey during the season."