Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada was a guest on Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, and Heyward drew up a play for Canada that involved his brother Connor throwing him a touchdown pass.
“We do a jet sweep with Connor, give him the ball, and then he throws it to me in the end zone. Heyward to Heyward,” Cameron said. “I’ll talk to Mike T and see how it goes.”
While he’s obviously joking, it wouldn’t be completely unreasonable for Heyward to be used as a goal-line target. At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds he would be a tough guy to cover in the red zone, and he also wouldn’t be the first NFL defender to be used as a red zone target.
Former NFL DE J.J. Watt had three career touchdown receptions, all as a member of the Houston Texans. Former LB and current Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel tallied 12 touchdown receptions in his career, so the precedent is certainly there for Cameron to get a look in the red zone.
Connor also threw a pass off a jet sweep in training camp, hitting TE Pat Freiermuth for a touchdown.
The Steelers ran a jet pass last year, with WR Chase Claypool throwing a touchdown to FB Derek Watt in a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Connor also took two handoffs out of the jet last season, so it’s theoretically something that the Steelers could do.
I wouldn’t expect anything from Heyward to Heyward this season, but it’s definitely a fun possibility to think about. If the Steelers want to really dive deep into the trick play possibility, it’s an option, although the presence of Cameron on offense would likely immediately alert the defense that something was up. But hey, maybe they can use it as a decoy now that the idea is out in the open.
Both Cameron and Connor are looking to build off strong years in 2022. Cameron is looking to potentially become the Steelers’ all-time sack leader, while Connor is embracing a Swiss-army knife role that Josh Carney compared to Taysom Hill’s usage with the New Orleans Saints.
Both will be important pieces for the team, with Connor a gadget on offense and Cameron one of the best defenders in the entire NFL. While he might not be catching touchdown passes anytime soon, he’ll certainly be batting balls down at the line of scrimmage and sacking the quarterback.
Watch the full episode below:
