Don’t tell Cam Heyward the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t win a Super Bowl this year. He still believes that door hasn’t closed. Despite many analysts looking towards the Baltimore Ravens or Cleveland Browns as divisional favorites, Heyward knows the Steelers still have the roster to go on a run.
Heyward joined Good Morning Football to evaluate the state of the Steelers and their Super Bowl candidacy.
“Going forward, I think we can continue to keep growing,” Heyward told the show. “We’re going to have a lot of new young guys and we can be better because of it. I still think we have the team to do it and it’s up to us to prove it.”
Most of those new additions will come on the offensive side of the football. Pittsburgh used its first four draft picks on offense. They started with RB Najee Harris then TE Pat Freiermuth before double-dipping along the offensive line with Kendrick Green and Dan Moore Jr. It was the first time since 1984 the team began a draft with four straight picks on offense.
Defensively, the team was able to keep a couple of names thought to be on their way out the door. Tyson Alualu made a last-second decision to return to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh re-signed Vince Williams after initially being a cap casualty. The Steelers re-signed CB Cam Sutton as well.
Still, the roster appears worse than it did a year ago. And that’s led many in the media to look towards the Ravens or up-and-coming Browns as the true contenders of the North. Heyward disagrees.
“No one’s given us a chance. Everybody’s ready to crown somebody new but until somebody beats and is the new division winner, we’ll see. But we’re not just worried about the division winner. We’re trying to be a Super Bowl champion. And that team hasn’t been crowned yet.”
Heyward and the Steelers will seek to avoid what happened the last time they won the AFC North. In 2017, they went 13-3 to become division champs. But the following year, they regressed to a 9-6-1 finish. The 10-6 Ravens edged them out for the top spot.
The AFC North crown may not be decided until the final two weeks of the season. In Week 17, the Steelers will host the Browns and will travel to the Ravens for the Week 18 finale. Those games may very well shape the division standings.
