Steelers' Eli Heidenreich Gets Powerful Vote Of Trust With Demanding New Job

The Pittsburgh Steelers can teach a rookie where to line up on special teams. Trusting him to help everybody else get lined up is a different level of responsibility. Most seventh-round picks arrive trying to prove they can survive one assignment at NFL speed. Pittsburgh apparently decided one of its most versatile rookies could handle something much closer to an organizational headache: think, identify, and communicate for an entire unit before the ball is even snapped.

Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman revealed that Eli Heidenreich was placed into what Pittsburgh calls a "signal caller" role almost immediately. During his Monday media availability, Crossman explained that Heidenreich is responsible for identification and communication across the group, meaning the rookie is not merely being asked to execute his own assignment. He has to understand enough of the picture to help everybody else operate from the same one.

“I think it’s a challenging position for anybody. Anytime you put anybody in those, what we refer to as signal-caller positions, where, you know, they’re the voice of that group and the identification and the communication and those things, it’s a big step. But, you know, we put him in that right from jump street,” Crossman said.

That last part is what makes the decision stand out. Pittsburgh did not wait until Heidenreich had a year of NFL meetings behind him or gradually introduce the communication work once he mastered a smaller assignment. Crossman said the Steelers put it on him from the beginning. For a rookie drafted 230th overall, that is a rather quick way to discover the coaching staff thinks your brain may be as useful as your legs.

Heidenreich entered the league with an unusual football résumé anyway. Pittsburgh drafted him as a running back/wide receiver after he finished his Navy career with 1,994 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns, both program records. In his final college season, he caught 51 passes for 941 yards while adding 499 rushing yards on 77 carries. The Steelers were never getting a player who fit cleanly inside one positional drawer.

His route to the 53-man roster depended on making that versatility useful beyond offense. Earlier in the offseason, Pittsburgh's special-teams plans for Heidenreich included evaluating him in coverage, protection and return responsibilities. By cutdown weekend, he had done enough to earn one of the more surprising spots on the initial roster despite entering camp behind more established players at running back.

Now there is a better explanation for why the Steelers were willing to keep him.

A signal caller has to process the structure of the unit rather than memorizing only his own lane or blocking assignment. Crossman's description makes identification and communication central to the job. That creates a different type of rookie mistake to avoid. Missing a tackle hurts one rep. A communication error can put several players in the wrong position before the play develops.

The mental workload also helps explain why Pittsburgh cares so much about repetitions Heidenreich does not physically receive. Crossman emphasized that the rookie's development continues even when another player is taking the actual snap.

“Even when he’s not getting the reps on the field, you know, he’s getting the reps mentally on the side and behind in the meeting room, in walkthroughs… You better take all those reps and use them as if you were on the field, because you can never get enough,” Crossman said.

That approach matters because a player near the bottom of the offensive depth chart cannot count on endless practice volume. Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle will command most of the conventional running-back work, while Heidenreich is also learning how Mike McCarthy might use his receiving background on offense. Special teams becomes the place where he can earn a game-day helmet immediately, but the job requires him to stay prepared even when the rep count belongs to somebody else.

Pittsburgh has been moving toward this outcome for months. The Steelers' early vision for Heidenreich was built around finding several ways for him to contribute rather than forcing him into one narrow role. Making the roster proved that plan had enough substance to survive August. Crossman's latest explanation shows the responsibility is more demanding than simply asking the hometown rookie to cover kicks and occasionally return one.

The communication component may eventually make him more difficult to replace, too. Coaches can find athletic players capable of running downfield. It is harder to replace someone once the staff trusts him to recognize the look, deliver information and keep the rest of a unit organized.

Steelers Are Asking Heidenreich To Think Like A Veteran

There is a reason Crossman called the position challenging for anybody rather than challenging for a rookie. Special teams changes quickly based on formation, personnel and what the opponent presents, and the player communicating those details has to process them without turning the huddle into a committee meeting.

Heidenreich will inevitably see things for the first time once regular-season games begin. No amount of walkthrough work can perfectly reproduce NFL speed or the pressure of making the correct identification in a stadium full of noise. Pittsburgh's response has been to make every mental rep count before those situations arrive.

That trust says something about the rookie's path already. Heidenreich initially looked like the kind of seventh-rounder who would need special teams simply to stay on the roster. Instead, the Steelers have given him a special-teams role that depends on other players being able to trust what comes out of his mouth.

His versatility helped him make the team. His ability to understand all of it may be what keeps him there.

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