Our Alex Kozora recently posted about a quirky Steelers Record Cam Heyward can match in 2026. That stat is Approximate Value (AV) from Pro Football Reference. Heyward has led Pittsburgh in this stat the last two seasons, with potential to join rare Steelers company if he does so again this season.
The stat is defined as an attempt to assign a single number to any player’s seasonal value from any season since 1960. Here is a link that gets into the minutiae.
Kozora’s article got me curious about how previous Steelers fared in the stat all-time. Before we see the history of the Black and Gold, one player holds the best approximate value of 26: LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006. That MVP season featured 28 rushing TDs, still a record today.
Now, here is the top tier of 14 players in Steelers history:
Fun trip down memory lane. Two players posted seasons with a 20 AV, with DB Rod Woodson doing so twice in the early ‘90s. The other player was LB Jack Lambert in 1976. Both are Hall of Famers, Super Bowl Champs, and multi-year All-Pro players.
We also see some names on the graphic multiple times. Woodson (4), Harrison (2), and T.J. Watt (2), the only current Steeler. Another thing that stands out is that all 14 are defensive players, which fits the team’s historical identity.
Players with a 19 AV were LB Jason Gildon (2001), Harrison, and LB James Farrior in 2004. Harrison’s 2008 campaign with the team ended in a Super Bowl, which included the 100-yard pick-six that many consider the best championship game play of all-time. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year that season.
A few strong names yet to be mentioned round out the 18 AV list: DT Mean Joe Greene (1972), Greg Lloyd (1993), and Chad Brown (1996). Each were All-Pros in those respective seasons.
Next, let’s look at the second tier of the results. These 14 players have an Approximate Value of 17:
Another fun list of names. Starting with repeat names from the first visual, we see Lambert (1983) and Lloyd (1994) once again. S Troy Polamalu stands out as the only new name to appear on this graphic multiple times. Like Harrison above, one of Polamalu’s selections was during the season that ended in Pittsburgh’s most recent Super Bowl.
He is yet another Hall of Famer to have strong AV results. Out of the two visuals, here is the list of Steelers Hall of Famers: Woodson, Lambert, Greene, Polamalu, CB Mel Blount, LB Kevin Greene, LB Jack Ham, RB Franco Harris, and S Donnie Shell. The season Harris made the AV list (1975) ended with another Lombardi in Pittsburgh’s trophy case.
A couple recent names were fun to see, including two on offense: RB Le’Veon Bell (2014) and WR Antonio Brown (2015). Both were All-Pro seasons in a fun “Killer B’s” era. They are two of only three offensive players thus far (including Harris) among Pittsburgh’s top AV results. Interestingly, we haven’t seen QB Ben Roethlisberger’s name yet.
Here is the last visual of Steelers with Approximate Values of 16:
Finally, some quarterbacks. Three, in fact: Terry Bradshaw (1978), Roethlisberger (2014), and Kordell Stewart (1997). Considering the impact Bradshaw and Roethlisberger had on those winning franchises, I would have expected them to land higher than this “third tier”. Not diminishing any other players’ accomplishments and the credit they deserve, though. Bradshaw’s qualifying season also ended with a Super Bowl victory.
Some more repeat names once again. Here’s a view of who leads all of the results in multiple seasons:
Five >= 16 AV seasons: DB Rod Woodson.
Four >= 16 AV seasons: DL Cameron Heyward.
Three >= 16 AV seasons: LB Jack Lambert, S Troy Polamalu.
Two >= 16 AV seasons: G Alan Faneca, WR Antonio Brown, LB Greg Lloyd, LB Jack Ham, LB James Farrior, LB James Harrison, LB Jason Gildon, DL Joe Greene, CB Mel Blount, LB T.J. Watt.
Lots of decorated Steelers. As Kozora illustrated in his article, Heyward has a chance to lead Pittsburgh in the stat for three straight seasons. If he does, he could also tie Woodson for the franchise lead in seasons with a 16 AV or higher. Yet another reason Heyward deserves props, especially at this stage of his career.
What are your thoughts on the stat and Pittsburgh’s results? Do you think Heyward will reach these feats this season?
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