[Q] SM-N900A, KK 4.4.4 NL1 - Can this be rooted directly? topic

After spending countless hours on this website, I've come to the inescapable conclusion that the only way to root an AT&T Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N900A) with an OTA install of KitKat 4.4.4 NL1 is to:

• install a downgrade to a stock, rooted N900A KitKat 4.4.2 NC2 ROM
  


• then install a stock, rooted N900A KitKat 4.4.4 NL1 ROM

Towelroot and KingoRoot don't seem to support NC2 or NJ5 ROMs from what I understand. Safestrap v3.75 and ODIN v3.10 seem to be the only two ROM flashing tools that will work with all versions of KitKat for the SM-N900A smartphone.

Would someone definitively state for the record what the most direct procedure for rooting a SM-N900A smartphone with an "official" OTA install of KitKat 4.4.4 NL1 is, please?

Thanks in advance and kudos the xdadevelopers for an indispensable web site that is the BEST, period.