Fifteen years ago when he was breaking into the NFL as a wide-eyed rookie on a star-studded defense, Cameron Heyward had the advantage of sitting and learning behind the likes of Super Bowl champions Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That time on the bench might have been frustrating at times for Heyward, but he learned valuable lessons from his older teammates, which has helped him carve out a Hall of Fame career to this point in the Black and Gold.
Now, he’s aiming to return the favor for Steelers first-round pick Derrick Harmon.
Appearing on NFL Network’s Inside Training Camp Live Sunday from Latrobe with Ian Rapoport and Steve Smith Sr., Heyward spoke about how invested he is in Harmon’s development.
“I’m responsible for that young man. I was brought in this league by guys taking care of me,” Heyward said, according to video via NFL Network. “And so, when I step on that field and I get a chance to talk to ’em, there’s not holding any secrets. I want ’em to be successful.
“I want ’em to have good technique, and then just apply it on as the years keep coming.”
Though Harmon won’t have the luxury to sit and learn like Heyward once did, considering he’s in the starting lineup, he has a player who is an open book available to him.
During the pre-draft process, Harmon made it clear that Heyward is a player he models his game after and studies. Now that he’s his teammate, he’ll get to learn the tricks of the trade up close and personal from Heyward.
In mandatory minicamp, Harmon spoke about how he was soaking up all the little details possible from Heyward, and now that he’s in training camp, that is something Harmon is taking a step further. Though he’s focused on adjusting to the speed of the game and fully grasping the Steelers’ defensive playbook, he has the ability to be in Heyward’s ear, learning anything and everything he can.
With Heyward being open and passing along any and all knowledge he can, hopefully it helps keep the tradition strong in Pittsburgh in the trenches defensively, continuing to pass things down from era to era, similar to how Heyward came up.
