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Welcome to the pre-draft season! Leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft starting on April 28th, we will be releasing draft profiles of prospects who could potentially see themselves on the Pittsburgh Steelers. First up…
As the last name indicates, Heyward is the younger brother of Steelers’ defensive anchor and team captain, Cam Heyward. (Connor) Heyward had a great 2021 season, propelled himself to the 2022 Senior Bowl, and also secured an invite to the NFL Combine. Heyward played almost a hybrid role in college as a fullback/tight end mix. As both fullback and tight end positions aren’t necessarily towards the top of the Steelers’ shopping list, depth is always critical, especially if there is low risk with a high reward; which is exactly what Heyward brings to the table.
As Pittsburgh fans know, the Heyward family tree is heavy with tough, stocky, exterior blended with a selfless blue-collar attitude. This Heyward is no different. Leading up to the combine, Heyward measures at 6’0” and weighs about 230 pounds. But although he has the right build for a fullback, Heyward possess the skillset of an elusive tight end with great hands. Because of this, he was used more in the pass game than as a runner as his game evolved in college. Heyward has great footwork and is able to control his body on the sidelines to make the play on off-target passes. In addition to his hands and footwork, Heyward has great athleticism for his size and has demonstrated that through hurdling defenders, leaping above safeties for a touchdown catch, even being the return man on kick-off packages. He has tremendous power in his lower body and is an effective chain-mover on middle-yardage downs. Between his reliable hands and downhill-running ability, Heyward could be that safety net every quarterback loves.
Being a hybrid ball carrier and pass catcher, Heyward lacks true ‘break-away’ speed in the open field and gets tackled from behind. In addition, he has more straight-line speed, as opposed to changing direction and making defenders miss in the open field. As a ball-carrier, Heyward is a “north to south” runner and may have trouble adapting to the speed along the line in the NFL. As a part of the transition to the NFL, it is going to take a special coaching staff to know how to properly utilize Heyward’s skillset. With him being a blend between two critical positions on offense, this is going to limit the type of offenses where he’ll succeed and those opportunities may be scarce in the NFL. Therefore, this may make some teams shy away from Heyward in favor of either a true running back or tight end.
With Heyward having such a unique skillset, he may find himself waiting on a call for the first 2 days of the draft. This is not a knock on how he’ll perform at the next level, it is simply because some teams won’t know how to put him in the best position possible to succeed. Because of this, mixed with a fairly deep running/half-back and tight end class, Heyward will need to wait a bit on April 30th for his call to come; hopefully from a Pittsburgh area code.
Heyward is exactly what Steeler Nation adores in an offensive player. He’s a “bring your lunch pail to work” type of player and is a perfect fit in a northern-based division. A common comparison Heyward has used to describe his skillset is that of Kyle Juszczyk, who spent some time in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens. For the Steelers, I think Heyward would fit right in; it is just a matter of where he will fall during the weekend of the draft. We all know how much the Steelers value family affairs within the locker room, and the Heyward’s could easily find themselves mixing it up with the Edmunds and Watt brothers. It is also worth mentioning that Derek Watt is set to become a free agent in 2023, which may open the door for Heyward after getting a season under his belt.
Where do you see Heyward going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Connor Heyward (Fullback/Tight End), Michigan State, Senior
OVERVIEW
As the last name indicates, Heyward is the younger brother of Steelers’ defensive anchor and team captain, Cam Heyward. (Connor) Heyward had a great 2021 season, propelled himself to the 2022 Senior Bowl, and also secured an invite to the NFL Combine. Heyward played almost a hybrid role in college as a fullback/tight end mix. As both fullback and tight end positions aren’t necessarily towards the top of the Steelers’ shopping list, depth is always critical, especially if there is low risk with a high reward; which is exactly what Heyward brings to the table.
PROS
As Pittsburgh fans know, the Heyward family tree is heavy with tough, stocky, exterior blended with a selfless blue-collar attitude. This Heyward is no different. Leading up to the combine, Heyward measures at 6’0” and weighs about 230 pounds. But although he has the right build for a fullback, Heyward possess the skillset of an elusive tight end with great hands. Because of this, he was used more in the pass game than as a runner as his game evolved in college. Heyward has great footwork and is able to control his body on the sidelines to make the play on off-target passes. In addition to his hands and footwork, Heyward has great athleticism for his size and has demonstrated that through hurdling defenders, leaping above safeties for a touchdown catch, even being the return man on kick-off packages. He has tremendous power in his lower body and is an effective chain-mover on middle-yardage downs. Between his reliable hands and downhill-running ability, Heyward could be that safety net every quarterback loves.
CONS
Being a hybrid ball carrier and pass catcher, Heyward lacks true ‘break-away’ speed in the open field and gets tackled from behind. In addition, he has more straight-line speed, as opposed to changing direction and making defenders miss in the open field. As a ball-carrier, Heyward is a “north to south” runner and may have trouble adapting to the speed along the line in the NFL. As a part of the transition to the NFL, it is going to take a special coaching staff to know how to properly utilize Heyward’s skillset. With him being a blend between two critical positions on offense, this is going to limit the type of offenses where he’ll succeed and those opportunities may be scarce in the NFL. Therefore, this may make some teams shy away from Heyward in favor of either a true running back or tight end.
DRAFT PROJECTION: Rounds 5-7
With Heyward having such a unique skillset, he may find himself waiting on a call for the first 2 days of the draft. This is not a knock on how he’ll perform at the next level, it is simply because some teams won’t know how to put him in the best position possible to succeed. Because of this, mixed with a fairly deep running/half-back and tight end class, Heyward will need to wait a bit on April 30th for his call to come; hopefully from a Pittsburgh area code.
VERDICT
Heyward is exactly what Steeler Nation adores in an offensive player. He’s a “bring your lunch pail to work” type of player and is a perfect fit in a northern-based division. A common comparison Heyward has used to describe his skillset is that of Kyle Juszczyk, who spent some time in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens. For the Steelers, I think Heyward would fit right in; it is just a matter of where he will fall during the weekend of the draft. We all know how much the Steelers value family affairs within the locker room, and the Heyward’s could easily find themselves mixing it up with the Edmunds and Watt brothers. It is also worth mentioning that Derek Watt is set to become a free agent in 2023, which may open the door for Heyward after getting a season under his belt.
Where do you see Heyward going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
