Steelers’ Cam Heyward will be out to make sure that recent comments from NFL evaluators look foolish come the end of 2026
Cam Heyward is still playing at or very close to the peak of his powers, or at least, that’s what it seems. NFL evaluators may see things differently when analyzing his recent fall in defensive tackle rankings.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward did not crack ESPN’s top 10 rankings at his position, and while the omission raised eyebrows among Steelers fans, the reasoning behind it makes sense on the surface. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who polls NFL executives, coaches, and personnel members for the rankings, offered this explanation:
“Heyward is still a good player, but his sacks and quarterback hits fell by more than half from 2024 to 2025,” Fowler wrote. “The 37-year-old is 8 sacks away from clearing 100 for his career.”
The sack numbers are what they are. Heyward’s production as a pass rusher dipped, and that’s the kind of thing league evaluators notice when they’re filling out ballots. But reducing Heyward to his sack totals misses the bigger picture of what he still brings to Pittsburgh’s defense.
Cam Heyward 2025 stats
- 38 tackles.
- 3.5 sacks.
- 1 forced fumble.
The pass rush numbers don’t tell the whole story
I would say that expecting eight sacks from Heyward in 2026 is probably a little rich. He’s approaching his late 30s, plays along the interior of the defensive line, and his game has always been predicated on stopping the run. The days of him being an eight-to-12-sack guy, the way he was in his early to mid-30s, are likely over.
That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Heyward finishes with six or seven sacks. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he leads Pittsburgh’s interior defensive linemen in total tackles once again, because the traits that make him effective in that area haven’t gone anywhere.
Heyward’s strength remains his calling card
If you turn on the tape from 2024, when he was dealing with some injuries, and then 2025 where he bounced back in a major way, one thing is immediately clear. Heyward is still as strong as an ox. He is dominant at the point of attack. He bullies centers and guards, pushes back the pile, makes tackles for losses, and still provides interior disruption when the Steelers need it.
The truth is, Heyward’s value to this defense has never been defined solely by sack totals. His ability to two-gap, collapse the pocket from the inside, and anchor against the run is what makes him one of the better defenders on Pittsburgh’s roster. That part of his game showed no signs of erosion last season.
Heyward has said he can play into his 40s as long as he continues to maintain that strength, and from everything we saw on film in 2025, he still has every single ounce of it. The league evaluators who left him off the top 10 list weren’t wrong to weigh the declining pass rush numbers, but I believe Heyward will still be one of the Steelers’ better defenders in 2026.