Player: TE Connor Heyward
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Though Connor Heyward’s special-teams value may preserve his roster spot, Jonnu Smith makes him a virtual irrelevance on offense. In his first season under OC Arthur Smith last year, he saw his usage rate drop. He will, at best, serve as the fourth tight end this season, making marginal offensive contributions.
Although the Steelers primarily drafted Connor Heyward for special teams, they also liked his versatile skill set. As a rookie, they used him in-line, in the slot, and even in the backfield. He not only led as a blocker, but even took some carries, having a running back history on his resume.
Entering the 2025 season, he’ll be lucky to see 10 offensive snaps per game. Somehow, he still managed to play just over 200 snaps last year, largely due to injury. MyCole Pruitt, whom Arthur Smith used as his third tight end last year, missed a number of games, leading to more snaps for Heyward.
This year, the Steelers swapped out MyCole Pruitt for Jonnu Smith, a Pro Bowl tight end. He joins Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, both of whom play key roles in the offense. In such a strong group, what is left over for Connor Heyward? The answer is as obvious as it is unsurprising: not much.
Even if the Steelers were to convert Heyward to fullback, Jonnu Smith can also play out of the backfield. And over the course of his career, Heyward hasn’t shown himself to be some can’t-miss blocker in the first place. Unless they suddenly have different ideas about how to use him it will be hard for him to find snaps.
Just logistically, there aren’t many opportunities. You’re going to have a running back on the field 99 percent of the time, for starters. The Steelers will likely feature heavy 12 personnel, maybe even significant 13 personnel. But behind Freiermuth, Washington, and Smith, how many snaps will Heyward even see? He is the fourth option in a group that will feature fewer than three on the field the majority of the time. One can argue he should have played over Pruitt last year, but over Smith or Washington, Heyward has no case.
With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
