He’s put together a Hall of Fame-worthy career during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, cementing himself as one of the best defensive linemen in franchise history and one of the best first-round draft picks of the Kevin Colbert era.
But entering Year 14 with the Black and Gold, Cameron Heyward still looks back on the 2011 NFL Draft and has a hard time processing that he was a first-round pick.
During an appearance Thursday night on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” Heyward, who just recently announced the first-round pick for the Steelers of Washington OL Troy Fautanu in the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, stated that he wasn’t sure he’d be a first-round pick that year.
“I thought I was [a first-round pick], but going into that moment, I had torn my elbow, my UCL. So I had Tommy John surgery, like a pitcher. But I thought, I wasn’t gonna go [to the draft] because I didn’t wanna be embarrassed,” Heyward said to Meyers, according to video the show’s YouTube page. “You see the guys, they’re in the green room. It’s embarrassing; you’re worried about that moment. And I was like, ‘I’ll just spend it with my family.’
“And so we have this moment and we’re getting towards the end of the first round, I’m having my buddies text me, like, ‘Hey, if this doesn’t work out, we can go to the movies.’ And so I’m like, ‘No, it’s gonna work out. We’re gonna have some fun.’ But, seeing that 412 come across the screen, I knew I was gonna be a Pittsburgh Steeler.”
Here is the moment Heyward was drafted, as captured by Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora.
It was a special moment for Heyward and his family, and it was a move by Colbert and the Steelers that ultimately added to a great era while adding an even better person who would go on to win the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
The fact that Heyward didn’t think he’d go in the first round that year is a bit of a surprise.
Coming out of Ohio State, Heyward was ranked as one of the best defensive linemen in the draft class. He had a terrific college career, generating 163 tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in 52 career games for the Buckeyes. Heyward helped lead Ohio State to a 2011 Sugar Bowl win against Arkansas, too, but he got hurt, which threw his draft stock into a bit of disarray.
That ultimately worked out for the Steelers as they landed him at No. 31 overall coming off an appearance in Super Bowl XLV.
For Colbert, the toughness that Heyward showed playing through the elbow injury and the football character he had during his time at Ohio State made him an easy choice at No. 31 that year.
“He had an interesting senior year,” Colbert said during a recent appearance on Heyward’s podcast. “It was an elbow injury and you played with a brace on from what I can remember. Which was very admirable because he wasn’t at a hundred percent…sometimes players that are getting into their senior year about to get drafted, they’ll tap out if they’re hurt. George Pickens, George coming off of an ACL, George fought to get back out on the field to help Georgia win a national championship.
“He risked his draft status by doing that. You’re playing with an elbow brace on, that limited your effectiveness. Not that you weren’t a first-round capable talent, but you weren’t a hundred percent. And that goes into the football character part of it.”
Things started off a bit slow for Heyward as he found himself behind Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith and Ziggy Hood in 2011. Heyward also wasn’t a starter in 2012, but in 2013 he stepped into the starting role for the Steelers and took off.
Heyward now sits second in sacks in franchise history behind T.J. Watt with 80.5, has three first-team All-Pro accolades, one second-team All-Pro selection, and has six trips to the Pro Bowl, firmly entrenching him as one of the best Steelers’ defensive linemen of all time and one of the best NFL defensive linemen of his era.
Not bad for a guy who didn’t think he’d go in the first round back in 2011.
Check out Heyward’s full appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” below.
