Steelers' Cam Heyward Completely Disrespected By Anonymous Voices Around The NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers have some stars at every single level of the defense, and that starts up front. TJ Watt is on the outside while Cam Heyward is still a dominant force in the middle of the defensive line. He is nearing the end of his career, but he did recently sign a one-year extension with the franchise that keeps him under contract through the 2027 season. Both Heyward and Watt have been criticized in recent years as they are getting older, but the Steelers continue to invest a ton of money into the two players. They remain two of the best defenders in the league, but they do not receive that respect for some reason.

Around this time of every offseason, ESPN analyst Jeremy Fowler talks to various coaches, scouts, and front office executives about players around the league. He uses these conversations to form rankings of each position, and various scouts and coaches have already made their opinions clear on some Steelers players already. On Wednesday, Watt was dragged through the mud, and on Thursday Heyward was completely disrespected as he did not make the ranking of the top ten defensive tackles in the NFL.

It's not just that Heyward was ranked low; he was not ranked at all. He wasn't even mentioned in the honorable mentions at the bottom of the list. His name was just listed under the section titled, "Others Receiving Votes."

Maybe Heyward is not a top five defensive tackle in the NFL anymore, but he absolutely deserves to be mentioned on this list. He's 37 years old, but he was a First-Team All-Pro in 2024 and a Second-Team All-Pro in 2025. He is consistently voted as one of the best defensive tackles in the league at the end of each season, so it is hard to believe that is just suddenly going to change now.

Heyward's sack numbers were down in 2025, which is the only reasoning that this ranking might make any sort of sense. After recording eight sacks in 2024, he only recorded 3.5 sacks in 2025. He was still a driving force in stopping the run, and he got consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback.

The veteran defensive tackle has had a presence on social media in recent years, and he has been vocal when something has gone against him. There is no doubt he will see this disrespectful ranking and use it as fuel for the 2026 season. If he can remain healthy throughout the year, he should be able to put together a better season than he did in 2025. He also will have more talent around him as the younger guys on the defensive line should be developing, which will lead to the unit being a better defensive front.

Steelers' Cam Heyward Was Listed Below Some Questionable Names

There are certainly some younger defensive tackles in the NFL that are better than Heyward. He would probably even admit that, but he is definitely up there with the top ten. He is at least deserving of being named in the honorable mentions, but those spots were reserved for Byron Murphy II, Vita Vea, and DeForest Buckner. Vea had one more sack than Heyward, but Heyward had 44 more total tackles in the same amount of games. Heyward had over 30 more total tackles than Buckner, and he was more productive than Murphy in every statistical category outside of sacks.

None of those guys were named All-Pros, but Heyward was. He has continued to prove haters wrong for years now, and the veteran should continue that trend in Pittsburgh for the 2026 season.

What do you think about Heyward being completely snubbed from this list? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

#SteelerNation