The Pittsburgh Steelers got their man in Eli Heidenreich, but they weren’t the only team ready to make a move.
Heidenreich, the Navy running back and Mt. Lebanon High School graduate, said on Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz’s podcast that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were prepared to bring him in as an undrafted free agent. That would have put him on a path to work with former Pittsburgh special teams coach Danny Smith and running back Kenneth Gainwell.
"My agent was talking to Tampa Bay, and I agreed that I would sign with them in preferred free agency," he shared. "So, I was kind of set there and now I was sitting and all of a sudden, I got that phone call, and I pick up and it was Omar (Khan)."
Instead of heading elsewhere, Heidenreich ended up as the Steelers’ seventh-round pick at No. 230 overall, and now he gets to chase his NFL dream in his hometown. For Pittsburgh, that meant beating out a team that clearly saw enough in him to try to lock him down quickly.
The Steelers are giving Heidenreich a shot to help in more than one place. He’ll get chances on offense and on special teams, where a rookie can do a lot of damage by simply finding a way onto the field and earning trust.
That’s where his profile starts to make real sense. His speed and agility should translate well to kickoff and kick return work, and if he handles those duties well, it could open the door to a bigger role as the season develops.
It’s not hard to see why Tampa Bay had interest, either. Danny Smith’s presence would have offered a tough, demanding landing spot for a young player, and Gainwell would have given Heidenreich a strong example to follow.
During his lone season with the Steelers, Kenny G was the team’s second-leading receiver and piled up nearly 1,000 all-purpose yards in a mediocre Pittsburgh offense. The Steelers appear to see some of that same dual-threat value in Heidenreich, and the rookie now has the chance to learn in that kind of setup with Gainwell in the building.
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