After coming on strong in the second half of the season as a receiving option in his rookie year, second-year tight end Connor Heyward is hoping for more of a role offensively in 2023.
Initially brought along slowly after making the roster as a sixth-round pick out of Michigan State, Heyward blossomed into a role after the Week 9 bye, becoming a valuable piece for the Steelers’ offense under coordinator Matt Canada. Of his 12 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown as a rookie on 17 targets, 14 of his targets came after the Week 9 bye, as did seven of his receptions, including his touchdown on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett showed serious trust in Heyward. So too did the coaching staff, putting him on the field in key situations, for which he rewarded them by coming through with some big plays.
Now, entering Year 2 as a member of the Steelers and fully immersed in the offense and comfortable with the coaches and his teammates, Heyward is hoping for a bigger role, telling 102.5 WDVE’s Mike Prisuta in a one-on-one interview during minicamp last week that he’s looking forward to being used in “new, cool” ways offensively.
“I would hope so; I would imagine,” Heyward said to Prisuta regarding more being expected of him in 2023. “We’ve all made strides and [Canada] actually said to me that he didn’t want to put too much on me, they didn’t want to have me out there spinning and questioning what I was doing; they wanted me to play fast. Honestly, I feel good with the offense. I felt good last year.
“I can understand why; I get it. But this year, they know I know it. This year, I think I’ll be used in a lot of new ways, and cool ways, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Last season, Heyward played just 174 snaps offensively, which totaled out to just 15% of the offensive snaps the Steelers ran in 2022. Of those 174 snaps, just 64 came in the season’s first eight weeks, including a career-high 30 snaps in the win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, which happened to be a game that Pat Freiermuth missed due to a concussion.
Heyward took advantage of the opportunity in that game, hauling in a key 45-yard catch-and-run from backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky on a broken play, sparking the Steelers’ offense in the win. After the bye week though, Heyward really took off and was a key part of the offense.
How he continues to be a key part of the offense under Canada remains to be seen, but he has some versatility to his game overall.
The 6-foot, 230-pounder is somewhat limited by his size, too short to be a full-time in-line blocking tight end, nor smoothly fitting the profile of a running back or fullback. The key for him will be to be able to do everything reasonably well, and that is what he is preparing himself for.
Heyward has a somewhat diverse background, having been both a full-time tight end and a full-time running back during his college career. He understands the nature of both of those positions and believes that he can contribute in those spots where appropriate.
Ideally, the Steelers will move him around in 2023, flexing him out into the slot as a receiving option, utilizing him as that check down option on bootlegs in Canada’s offense, and even giving him the ball in the run game a few times, considering his background as a running back at Michigan State.
He certainly seems excited about the role the Steelers have planned for him in the coming season. What that looks like remains to be seen, but it’s very clear that the Steelers have a unique weapon to work with offensively due to his skill set and background. Hopefully they tap into it a bit more and unlock another level offensively.
