By Matthew Marczi
End-of-season player exit meetings are not something that we are often privy to as outsiders of the football world. Generally, we only get a glimpse into that world when a player is asked by a reporter how the meeting went, if the player is willing to discuss it.
Still, it’s not generally a hard concept to grasp, and we have a pretty good feel by now of how Mike Tomlin and his staff likes to operate, and we see all the game film, so it’s not an overly difficult project to simulate. If we were to administer the end-of-season player exit meetings, it might go something like this.
Player: Cameron Heyward
Position: Defensive End
Experience: 3 Years
There seems to be less complaining about taking defensive ends in the first round this offseason than there was last offseason. And I have a sneaking suspicion that that may have something to do with Cameron Heyward.
The third-year former first-round draft pick emerged onto the scene in a big way in 2013, playing so well in rotational duty that he leapfrogged Ziggy Hood, another former first-rounder, in the starting lineup after the first month of the season.
Heyward is quickly emerging as a future leader of this team. His teammates are already drawn to his energy and motor on the field, even if he’s not the most extroverted player in the locker room or with the media.
The Miami Dolphins game in the snow in particular comes to mind when speaking about the energy that Heyward brings to the game. He was consistently chasing down runners from behind in that contest, twice swinging them down from behind using their jerseys, and another time offering up a body slam.
Although he didn’t cause any turnovers—though he did recover a fumble—he consistently put his stamp on the Steelers’ defensive efforts. With 59 tackles, five sacks, and seven passes defensed—a number that includes both passes batted at the line and passes defensed in coverage—Heyward seems to be emerging as the true successor to Aaron Smith, which the team badly needs.
The best part about Heyward is that he not only has a higher ceiling than where he currently is, he knows that he can get better, and he is determined to get better. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Heyward yet in his career.
There were times during the season, particularly early on, in which it was clear that Heyward was still learning how to play consistently through so many snaps. His 845 snaps this year blew away his previous high, and there were games in which he hardly came off the field.
The game is gradually slowing down for Heyward, and he’s understanding it more and more. He’s getting a better feel for blocking schemes and how to beat them. He learns from his mistakes not just game-to-game, but play-to-play. And he doesn’t miss many tackles either. Getting Heyward up to speed may have been the most important aspect of the 2013 season.
Previous Articles In This Series
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – QB Ben Roethlisberger
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – WR Antonio Brown
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – WR Emmanuel Sanders
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – TE Heath Miller
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – T Marcus Gilbert
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – G David DeCastro
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – G Ramon Foster
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – T Kelvin Beachum
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – RB Le’Veon Bell
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – C Fernando Velasco
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – FB Will Johnson
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – DE Brett Keisel
Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – NT Steve McLendon
