It’s rare for an NFL Draft to have many iconic moments on Day 3. But the 2026 draft in Pittsburgh had one, all the way near the end of the seventh round. With their final selection of the draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Eli Heidenreich, a versatile offensive weapon out of Navy.

Heidenreich was at the draft and had an emotional walk to the stage in front of thousands of roaring Steelers fans. It was a moment the Steelers were thinking about days before the draft, according to Art Rooney II.

“The other highlight was when we drafted Eli, and the reception he got there in the seventh round was, probably, the greatest seventh-round pick we’ve ever made, for sure,” Rooney said Wednesday on NFL Network’s The Insiders. “Omar [Khan] and I did talk about it a couple days before. We just said, look, if the opportunity is there in the seventh round, and Eli hasn’t been picked yet, we’re gonna take a hard look at taking him. So, glad it worked out the way it did, and we’re excited to have him.”

Rooney’s seventh-round pick comment was a little lighthearted. The Steelers have, of course, found some gems that late in the draft, Brett Keisel and Kelvin Beachum being two examples.

When it gets that late in the draft, picks become more of a shot in the dark. And for Eli Heidenreich, it certainly was a storybook moment. The Pittsburgh native who grew up a Steeler fan was already talking to teams about signing as an UDFA when he got the call from Pittsburgh, then got to walk the stage, put on the Steelers draft hat, and shake hands with the commissioner.

But Heidenreich brings more to the table than just a feel-good draft moment. At Navy, he contributed in a variety of ways. He was a threat on the ground, with 169 rushes for 1,157 yards, at an impressive clip of 6.8 per carry. He was even better as a pass catcher, with 109 receptions for 1,994 yards. Heidenreich also led his conference in yards per reception in 2025 with 18.5.

Finding a role in the Steelers’ offense will be tough, as it is for any seventh-round pick. But his versatile skill set may make that a little easier. Some analysts envision him taking a Kenneth Gainwell-type role. Although he’ll obviously have to prove himself to earn a large workload.

Either way, Eli Heidenreich is someone the Steelers had eyes on well before drafting him, according to Rooney. Fortunately, he was still on the board, and the Steelers were able to pull the trigger.