Pittsburgh Steelers DL Cameron Heyward and QB Kenny Pickett were named two of the team’s four captains earlier today, and after the team’s practice, Heyward talked about conversations about leadership he’s had with Pickett.
“I don’t know if there’s something that was like good job buddy, keep doing that, but we bounce ideas off each other and we have communication. Whether it’s, ‘hey this is the time to really press on the gas and challenge guys,’ because you gotta be able to challenge guys when you need to, but you also gotta be able to listen too. As a leader, it’s not always having the biggest voice in the room, but also hearing what guys are saying and making sure we accomplish what the group needs,” Heyward said via Post-Gazette Sports on YouTube.
Pickett’s leadership has continually been praised by his teammates this offseason and into training and the preseason, so it’s no surprise that he was voted captain. You want the starting quarterback to be a guy others look to who can show them how to act and perform, so it’s good to see that Pickett was voted a captain by his peers.
Heyward is the longest-tenured member of the team and a consummate professional. It’s the ninth consecutive year he’s been voted as a captain. With it being Pickett’s first year as a captain, there’s a lot that the two can discuss.
With Pickett wanting to take more ownership of the Steelers’ offense, being the sole offensive captain and leader of the unit is a great way to do so. He’s the guy his teammates are going to look to, and unlike last year when RB Najee Harris was a captain, there’s no one else on offense besides Pickett who was selected as a captain. It’s good that Heyward and Pickett have had discussions on leadership, because as good of a leader as Pickett may be, no player knows the fabric of the team and organization better than Heyward.
The Steelers have a good group of captains, and hopefully, the leadership core remains strong throughout the season. Pittsburgh is looking to ascend and become a team that can make some noise in the postseason, and having strong leadership to help keep guys on track is going to be a key to doing so. I don’t have much doubt that guys like Pickett and Heyward and T.J. Watt who care as much about winning as they do are going to have any issues being strong leaders.
