The 2025 season might not have ended the way he envisioned with a blowout loss in the AFC Wild Card round to the Houston Texans at home, but Year 15 in the NFL for Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward was another great one from an individual aspect.
Heyward, who earned second-team All-Pro honors, showed once again why he’s one of the best interior defensive linemen in football and on the path towards a Hall of Fame induction.
From start to finish, Heyward dominated and cracked the top 25 of Pro Football Focus’ Top 101 player rankings from the previous season. Heyward landed at No. 21 overall, one spot ahead of Tennessee’s Jeffrey Simmons, and seven spots ahead of Dallas defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.
“Now 36, Heyward has continued to defy Father Time in recent seasons. In 2025, he was a bulwark with a 90.4 PFF overall grade, the best among qualified interior defenders,” PFF writes of Heyward at No. 21. “Heyward earned at least an 84.4 PFF grade in both run defense and pass rushing, making landmark contributions on nearly a weekly basis. Also impressive was Heyward’s 3.8% missed tackle rate, the third-lowest clip among any defender with 700 or more snaps.”
Along with his second-team All-Pro accolade from the Associated Press, Heyward earned an All-AFC accolade from the Professional Football Writers of America.
He finished his 15th season in the NFL with 78 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, six pass breakups and one forced fumble. Though the Steelers’ defense as a whole struggled to stop the run on a consistent basis, Heyward was stout in that department once again.
And though he had just the 3.5 sacks, he generated 50 pressures on the season and finished with a grade of 90.4 overall from Pro Football Focus, finishing as the highest-graded interior defender in the league. He did all of that at 36 years old.
Based on his comments so far this offseason, it appears that he’ll be returning for Year 16 with the Steelers, especially after having offseason surgery quickly to repair a knee injury. He’s entering the final year of his contract, too, and while he said that won’t be a determining factor in his return, he is due for a boost in pay, especially after a dominant year.
With new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham overseeing the defense under first-year head coach Mike McCarthy, Heyward’s presence will be especially important moving forward. He’s still an elite player, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
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