There is one thing of which second-year Pittsburgh Steeler Connor Heyward is aware, and that is his limitations—as he sees them. He’ll be the first to tell you, as he told Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, that he’s not the ‘sixth lineman’ type of tight end as is rookie Darnell Washington. But ask him about running routes and catching passes and you’ll get a different answer.
“There is not a linebacker in this league who can cover me”, he told the reporter. “I’m serious”.
A 2022 fifth-round draft pick, nominally a tight end and fullback, Heyward has worn a number of hats over his football life, which he understands is what he needs to do to make it in the NFL, to “Learn everything”.
“Learn the whole offense so we can plug you in where we need you”, he said. “I feel that I can play running back at this level on third downs, pass pro, catch the ball out of the backfield, line me up in empty. It is just knowing what to do. This game is all about matchups, and that is what we want to do”.
But one almost gets the sense that he is particularly proud of his abilities as a receiver, which as a rookie last season amounted to 12 receptions on 17 targets for 151 yards and a touchdown, not at all shabby for a guy who only played 174 offensive snaps.
Primarily a running back during his college career at Michigan State, Heyward switched to tight end his senior year and in a limited role caught 35 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Over his college career, he caught 96 passes for 711 yards and six scores.
As his biography on the team’s website notes, he was more prolific as a receiving option in high school, including a senior season in which he caught 47 passes for 580 yards and six touchdowns, having spent some time actually playing the wide receiver position. He also played safety, so he knows a little thing or two about the defensive perspective.
Now, how much of that is actually going to translate in the NFL? To his credit, he already showed as a rookie that he has more wiggle than you might expect out of his body type. But the bulk of his experience at this level will be coming in passing backs-on-backers drills, which are weighted heavily in favor of the offense.
Another obstacle will be playing time. the Steelers have three other tight ends or tight-endish players, including Pat Freiermuth. He may see more targets than, say, a Zach Gentry, and Washington is still a rookie who will have to earn his opportunities, but how many shots will Heyward get to line up against linebackers? It’s not really something you would expect to be actively gameplanned very often.
