Steelers' Eli Heidenreich Is Stuck In An Awkward Offensive Identity Crisis

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent all summer selling versatility as one of the reasons a seventh-round rookie deserved a roster spot. Now they have reached the kind of week when that versatility should become useful. Three receivers are unavailable, the offense needs bodies it can trust, and Pittsburgh has a player officially listed at two offensive positions. The awkward part is that one half of that label may exist more on the roster page than inside the meeting room.

Eli Heidenreich is the rookie caught in that gray area, and Ray Fittipaldo believes Pittsburgh still has not decided what he actually is on offense. During a recent appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Fittipaldo explained that he asked Heidenreich directly whether he had even been attending receiver meetings. The answer made the Steelers' RB/WR designation considerably more interesting.

“I think they need to find out who he is offensively…. I asked him if he’s been in receiver meetings and he’s like, ‘No’… I just don’t think they have that confidence in him just yet,” Fittipaldo said.

That is a remarkable place to be in mid-October for a player whose selling point was supposed to be flexibility. Pittsburgh selected Heidenreich 230th overall out of Navy after he produced as both a runner and receiver in college, then kept him on the 53-man roster as a running back/wide receiver. He won the spot because the Steelers believed his unusual skill set could create more answers than a conventional depth player.

Through five games, however, the offense has barely asked him a question. Heidenreich has logged only three offensive snaps without a carry or reception. His real work has come on special teams, where he has returned three kicks for 73 yards and handled coverage responsibilities. Special teams are often how seventh-round picks stay dressed long enough to develop into something more, but Pittsburgh suddenly needs the “something more” part.

Michael Pittman Jr. is on injured reserve with a foot injury, while Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek will miss Sunday's matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. DK Metcalf and rookie Germie Bernard are left carrying a heavier receiving burden, and Offensive Coordinator Brian Angelichio has discussed leaning on Pittsburgh's tight ends and other available depth to survive the injuries.

Heidenreich should not automatically leap over those options because he caught 51 passes for 941 yards during his final season at Navy. NFL receiver play requires route detail, sight adjustments, coverage recognition, releases and timing that cannot be downloaded on Saturday night because the depth chart got ugly.

Fittipaldo's revelation still creates a fair question: if Heidenreich has not been in receiver meetings, how serious was Pittsburgh ever about developing the WR half of RB/WR?

The organization had reasons to start him in the running back room. Heidenreich said during the offseason that Pittsburgh had both its running backs and receivers coaches involved during the pre-draft process, but once he arrived, running back became his primary home. That made sense for a rookie trying to learn an NFL offense without carrying two playbooks in his head. Giving a player a home is smart. Putting up a fence is different.

Mike McCarthy has always valued offensive players who can line up in multiple places, which made Heidenreich such an intriguing fit when Pittsburgh drafted him. The Steelers even spent the summer wondering whether their hometown rookie could become a secret weapon by moving between the backfield, slot and special teams.

Five weeks into the season, the experiment looks much more conservative. Three offensive snaps are not a package; they are basically a cameo. That does not mean McCarthy and Angelichio have mishandled Heidenreich. Coaches see every practice rep, protection mistake and route detail that never reaches Sunday. If Pittsburgh does not trust him to execute receiver responsibilities cleanly, throwing him into the slot because Wilson and Skowronek are hurt would be desperation disguised as creativity.

Still, versatility without preparation is just a slash on a roster page.

The Steelers do not need to decide Heidenreich is secretly a full-time receiver. They do need to determine whether the traits that made him worth keeping can become useful beyond kick returns and emergency depth. Otherwise, Pittsburgh spent a roster spot protecting an offensive possibility it never actually developed.

Steelers Need To Decide What Heidenreich Is Before They Need Him Again

Fittipaldo's comment lands at the worst possible time because the receiver injuries have turned a theoretical question into an immediate one. If Heidenreich had been cross-training regularly with the receiver room, this would be the obvious week to expand his package. The fact that he apparently has not been attending those meetings helps explain why Pittsburgh may prefer tight ends and conventional receivers instead.

My view is that the Steelers should resist forcing Heidenreich into a job he has not been prepared to handle this Sunday. That would be unfair to the rookie and reckless for an offense trying to win a real game. After Sunday, though, Pittsburgh needs a better plan.

Heidenreich survived cutdown day because the Steelers saw a player who could do enough different things to justify keeping. He has already proven useful on special teams. The next step cannot be waiting for another injury crisis and discovering again that the offense still does not know where to put him.

Pittsburgh does not have to turn Heidenreich into a full-time slot receiver or weekly gimmick. It simply has to make the versatility real. Right now, Fittipaldo's reporting suggests the Steelers still have a weapon they like without knowing which drawer they want to keep it in.

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