Most of the lists ranking the Top 100 players in the NFL that have come out this offseason have featured three Pittsburgh Steelers, those being EDGE T.J. Watt, S Minkah Fitzpatrick and DL Cameron Heyward. That was not the case with ESPN’s NFL Rank, as while Watt came in at No. 15 and Fitzpatrick at No. 37, Heyward was somehow not included in the list.
Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was the lowest-rated defensive lineman on the list, coming in at No. 98. While Wilkins is an elite run defender, I think his overall body of work pales in comparison to Heyward. Last season, Wilkins had 59 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks. Heyward had 39 solo tackles and 10.5 sacks. Since Wilkins came into the league in 2019, he has 166 solo tackles and 11.5 sacks for his career.
Heyward has 173 solo tackles and 33.5 sacks in that same span. It’s an egregious snub, especially when other, lesser defensive linemen like Arik Armstead of the San Francisco 49ers are included, with Armstead coming in at No. 75.
Heyward’s spoke about his respect — or lack thereof — for these sorts of list before, and while a lot of it is just a matter of where he’s ranked or the process of it, the face he’s not ranked really makes little to no sense. He remains one of the best defensive linemen in the league, someone who’s put up good numbers year in and year out, regardless of age.
Whether it’s the fact that he’s 34 years old is causing people to just assume he’ll regress or there’s actually just a blatant disrespect for Heyward’s abilities, it’s an absolute joke he’s not included. His play this season will prove that.
As for Watt, No. 15 is a well-deserved ranking, even if he does come in below Cleveland Browns EDGE Myles Garrett at No. 13. ESPN predicts Watt for a very low 11 sack total, along with 68 tackles.
As for Fitzpatrick, he’s projected for four interceptions, one sack and 105 tackles. Last year, he came in at No. 23 on this list. Somehow, after a six-interception season, he falls 14 spots. Make it make sense.
The inclusion of Armstead over Heyward is one that really grinds my gears. He wasn’t ranked on the list last season, played in nine games, and recorded 11 tackles and not a single sack. How does that get him on the list heading into 2023? Heyward stayed healthy and was a key cog on a good Steelers defense.
The list is created by a panel of ESPN NFL “Experts” with the emphasis solely placed on the upcoming season. So these so-called “experts” really think that coming off an injury-plagued season where he wasn’t all that productive even when healthy, Armstead is going to be one of the 80-best players in the NFL and significantly better than Heyward? And that Heyward won’t be among the top defensive linemen in the league, like he has been for the past six years? Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but this list is just bad.
