Cam Heyward Climbs Up PFF Ratings for 2025
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 8, 2024. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Defensive captain Cam Heyward was ranked as the third-best interior defensive lineman recently by Pro Football Focus.
Despite numerous draft moves to address the trenches, the Steelers saw Cam Heyward's career resurgence in 2024. This came after an injury-plagued 2023. Pro Football Focus recently ranked him as the third-best interior defensive lineman.
He ranked only behind Kansas City's Chris Jones and New York's Dexter Lawrence. The 15-year veteran is coming off of a remarkable turnaround from one of his best seasons last year.
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Heyward, who turned 36 this past month, finished 2024 with eight sacks, 20 quarterback hits, and a career-high 11 pass deflections. This effort earned him his seventh career Pro Bowl and fourth All-Pro honors.
Despite drafting Derrick Harmon in the first-round and Keeanu Benton two years ago, Heyward doesn't see this year as a 'passing of the torch.'
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward at OTAs on May 27, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
'I think you don't really think about passing the torch right now,' Heyward said at OTA's last week. 'I think it's about, 'How can we make this team the best it can be?' It's not about holding secrets or anything. It's about making sure we're all growing at a pace that, by Week 1, we're ready to kick this thing up.'
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One thing is for sure: Cameron Heyward is playing some of his best football. He may even have enough in the tank to finish his current contract.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Cam Heyward Climbs Up PFF Ratings for 2025
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Advertisement So, Rodgers, who has seen every blitz package and coverage scheme known to man, will prove more proficient in directing a Steelers offense that this offseason swapped out wide receiver George Pickens for DK Metcalf and replaced running back Najee Harris with third-round pick Kaleb Johnson. But this is the same Rodgers who is coming off the most disappointing showing of his career after struggling to effectively direct a Jets offense that featured Pro Bowl-caliber wide receivers Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson and potent running back Breece Hall. Pittsburgh does have a consistently reliable defense. But will Rodgers fare much better with the Steelers, who have fielded pedestrian offenses for years? It's not like team officials made dramatic upgrades to that side of the ball. Metcalf, for whom the Steelers traded before awarding him a $132 million contract, may have Pickens beat in the maturity department. But statistically, the differences are negligible. And that raises the question of why, if Pittsburgh was so intent on this Rodgers fling, it didn't hang onto Pickens for one more season to ensure this over-the-hill legend at least had a dynamic receiver tandem with which to work. Just as Metcalf may not be a legit upgrade over Pickens, Rodgers might not be any better than Russell Wilson. Compare the aging former NFC rivals' last three seasons. The numbers are eerily similar. Rodgers completed 63.7 percent of his passes; Wilson 63.4 percent. Rodgers had 54 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions. Wilson had 58 touchdown passes and 24 interceptions. Rodgers went 14-21; Wilson 17-24. But an eight-year playoff win drought and a refusal to do what it takes to acquire a top-flight rookie quarterback and endure the development stages have clouded the Steelers' judgment. Did they forget that Father Time remains undefeated? Sure, Brady and Peyton Manning managed to deliver Super Bowls to new teams as the sun set on their careers. But those occurrences are rare. Just ask Joe Montana and the Chiefs, Joe Namath and the Rams, Johnny Unitas and the Chargers, Warren Moon and the Vikings and Seahawks and Cam Newton and the Patriots. Advertisement Eventually, the magic fades. But it's not the physical decline that should concern the Steelers the most. A team that prides itself on professionalism and discipline, led by the ultimate culture guy in Tomlin, needs only to examine Rodgers' off-field behavior the last three years to realize this is not an ideal fit. Tomlin always preaches, 'The standard is the standard. We're going to do things the Steeler way.' He's all about accountability and team above self — yet he hitched himself to a quarterback notorious for finger-pointing when things go south. Did Pittsburgh forget how Rodgers' time in Green Bay ended? Unhappy with the way team president Mark Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst were running the team and his lack of input, Rodgers was publicly critical of both and wanted Gutekunst fired. Fatigued by his antics and growing non-football interests, the Packers moved on with Rodgers in the dark. Did the Steelers forget how Rodgers criticized the dysfunctional ways of the Jets organization, eventually leading to head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas getting fired? Rather than accept accountability for New York's shortcomings during last year's 5-12 debacle, Rodgers regularly used his buddy Pat McAfee's show as a platform to call out teammates and Jets leadership. Pittsburgh officials are guilty of arrogance, viewing themselves as a far superior franchise to the Jets and immune to such a debacle. Perhaps they see more similarities to Green Bay and believe Rodgers will embrace a return to structure and simply play his role. But that would require Rodgers to possess a keen focus and unquenchable thirst for winning at all costs and the humility necessary to adapt and alter his approach. If Tomlin thinks he's getting a laser-focused Rodgers who's all about sacrificing for the greater good, he should think again. Sure, Rodgers may have expressed respect during this drawn-out courtship, which seemingly even included Tomlin cutting a deal that let the quarterback skip all but three days of the offseason program. But as he welcomes Rodgers aboard, Tomlin is putting himself and the franchise at great risk. Advertisement League insiders have long regarded Tomlin as a strong leader of men with a knack for managing complicated personalities and getting his charges to exceed expectations and overcome adversity. He draws praise for having never experienced a losing season in 18 years as head coach. However, he'll have to use every management and relationship-massaging trick he's got to prevent Rodgers from taking a stick of dynamite to the Steelers' near pristine culture if things play out poorly. Critics have long said that while Tomlin's avoidance of losing records is remarkable, his unwillingness to evolve in the areas of team operations, staff construction and talent evaluation actually holds the Steelers back. If losses mount and Rodgers makes the same observations about an antiquated approach, he'll certainly pull back the curtain on this boss, as he has on others, and subject a proud franchise to embarrassment. Speaking of relationships, one of the most important ones will be that of the quarterback and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Many league insiders believe that to avoid a combustible situation, Tomlin will give Rodgers freedom to operate as he pleases. It will take work for Smith to align his conservative, run-first philosophies with those of Rodgers, who still views himself as a gunslinger. The two have never worked together. Smith worked under Matt LaFleur, Rodgers' head coach in Green Bay, when LaFleur was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee. And Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth had a brief stint as an offseason teammate of Rodgers' in 2006. But there are no pre-existing ties to ensure this thing remains on track. Blending existing concepts with those of a veteran quarterback isn't easy. Just ask Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich, who spent half of the 2020 season trying to do so for Brady before finding the perfect mix late in that season. And that was while working with the laser-focused Brady and not a quarterback like Rodgers with meandering interests and a strong sense of entitlement. Ideally, Smith would have had all offseason to cultivate a relationship with his quarterback and integrate his favorite concepts and plays into the Steelers' playbook. The two could have experimented, massaged and tweaked throughout the offseason. But instead, they will receive one three-day on-field stretch together before reconvening for training camp. Advertisement How will Rodgers respond if the offense sputters, should he and Smith clash? Will he eventually go rogue and get into on-field trouble while overestimating his declining physical gifts? And then there's chemistry with teammates. Unlike the Jets' experiment, Pittsburgh isn't going out to get as many hand-picked former Packers for Rodgers. Instead, he will have to start from scratch on Tuesday and continue throughout training camp. And even then, will it be enough? If he threw Jets teammates he'd known for nearly two years under the bus, what will he do to Pittsburgh players he hardly knows? Will Tomlin and Steelers owner Dan Rooney be able to stomach weekly outlandish comments from their quarterback on McAfee's show? Pittsburgh's desperation for a deep playoff run is real — so real it feels like the usually conservative Tomlin and Steelers were willing to ignore a dozen red flags, including that they were nowhere close to his first choice. But maybe things will not go as disastrously as they could. Maybe Rodgers will change his stripes and be the model teammate and ultimate professional — a big maybe. He doesn't make the Steelers better than the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens. He might not even have the capability to carry Pittsburgh past Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. We won't even talk about the Kansas City Chiefs. So, is this soul-selling dance worth it? There's no Super Bowl run left in this version of Aaron Rodgers. If we're being honest, the best realistic scenario involves this experiment going woefully wrong, and at last, the Steelers find themselves in position to draft a top-flight quarterback. At worst, Rodgers and the Steelers labor through another season and finish a tick above .500 — as is customary — only to remain stuck in football purgatory with no clear path out.
