Eli Heidenreich is walking into the Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp and preseason as one of the names to watch. The 22-year-old seventh-round pick has a legitimate chance to push for the 53-man roster, and that alone makes him worth tracking now.
Heidenreich is not a generic late-round flier. He is a local success story out of Mt. Lebanon High School, and the Steelers drafted him with a clear reason to keep looking. He can help from the backfield and out wide as a receiver, which gives him more than one path to value if he shows enough in camp and preseason games.
That versatility matters because the NFL does not hand out roster spots for potential alone. On the 53-man roster, every player has to justify his place against specialists, depth pieces and younger options who can do one thing well. Heidenreich's case is more interesting than most seventh-round picks because his skill set gives the Steelers a way to imagine him in multiple roles, not just as a body for training camp.
Over the past two seasons, Heidenreich was the focal point of Navy's offense, which is the kind of workload that can travel to the next level if the player can keep finding ways to touch the ball. The Steelers have reason to study that film closely, because it shows how he handled responsibility when the offense ran through him. That is also why his name comes up whenever roster math starts to tighten.
Still, the path is not clean. Heidenreich may be more likely to land on the practice squad than the main roster this year, even with a legitimate opening in front of him. That is the friction for a seventh-round pick in late summer: the talent can be real, the fit can be promising, and the final number still has to work in his favor.
The comparison that frames his case points to Rex Burkhead, who attended Nebraska and built an NFL career by doing a little of everything. Burkhead registered at least 250 rushing yards five times, posted a career-best 427 yards in 2021, and added seven seasons with over 150 receiving yards, topping the 200-yard mark three times. That is the kind of usage model that hints at how Heidenreich could matter if the Steelers decide his versatility is worth carrying forward.
For now, the answer sits in training camp and preseason reps. If Heidenreich can turn that hybrid role into steady production, he can force the Steelers to think harder about the 53-man roster. If not, the practice squad is the likeliest next stop, and the club will still keep a close eye on what the 22-year-old can become.
