Any seventh-round rookie must overcome long odds to make the 53-man roster. For all Eli Heidenreich did offensively at Navy, his path to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster is likely to come on another phase. On Friday, he acknowledged to reporters that special teams is his best path to sticking with Pittsburgh.
“I played all four phases at Navy throughout my three years playing there,” he said via Steelers.com after today’s practice. “Special teams is something I take pride in, I enjoy doing.
Heidenreich’s first three days of training camp have been spent as a reserve running back. Today, he worked with the backups and reserves on the middle field of the three that dot Saint Vincent’s campus. Until the pads come on, Pittsburgh has emphasized making plays through the air rather than on the ground. Heidenreich flashed his pass-catching skills during Friday’s light workout, but his most notable contributions have come on special teams.
So far, Heidenreich has worked as Pittsburgh’s second-team personal protector, the “quarterback” of the punt team. The player in charge of identifying the number of potential rushers, communicating blocking paths with the long snapper, and alerting the snapper to hike the ball. A big role for a rookie, but Heidenreich can handle it thanks to his college days.
At Navy, he logged 247 special teams snaps, including plenty on the punt team. Pittsburgh may plan to utilize him on its kick coverage and return units, but the team hasn’t practiced those yet.
Heidenreich isn’t the only one flexing his special teams versatility. Ahead of him on the depth chart is RB Travis Homer, the starting personal protector and veteran “teamer” with over 1,300 career snaps on that unit. Kaleb Johnson, looking to increase his value, is even working as second-team wing right next to Heidenreich.
If Heidenreich can make plays inside stadiums, it might be enough to win him the job.
“I don’t get to tackle anymore, not playing defense, so getting out there and tackling a little bit on special teams is a blast,” he said. “It’s absolutely a way I see myself contributing to this team.”
It might be unusual to find a running back so eager to hit. Heidenreich, though, isn’t a typical seventh-rounder. He doesn’t have an easy path to securing a spot, but he knows how he must do it.