It’s easy to talk excitedly about Eli Heidenreich. It’s a little harder to talk about where he might fit on the Steelers’ 53-man roster. The rookie seventh-round pick has an uphill battle to earn his spot, but Ray Fittipaldo believes there is one clear way to do it. And it’s certainly a path that many young players have taken before.
“I think he’s got to have a really good camp, and I think somebody else probably would have to falter”, he said on 93.7 The Fan, for Heidenreich to earn a spot on the roster as an offensive player. “I think he’s gonna have to make it on special teams”.
A seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Eli Heidenreich is quite a story, and quite an athlete, as well. However, that alone is not enough, or he wouldn’t have nearly slipped out of the draft entirely. The Steelers view him as a great seventh-round selection, but now he has to develop into a great seventh-round player.
The Steelers may not want to pigeonhole him, but Heidenreich has worked with the running backs so far. That’s the position at which he sees himself, though he also believes he can do receiver-like things. After all, he ended his Navy career as the school’s all-time leading receiver, so there’s something to that. But where he really needs to make an impact is on special teams.
“There’s only so many avenues that you have to get to a 53-man roster. You’ve either got to be a great returner, you’ve got to be great as a gunner”, Fittipaldo said, discussing Heidenreich’s roster odds. “Maybe he can find his role there. Maybe he’s gonna be that guy to run down and cover kicks. And let’s face it, they do have some opportunities on special teams”.
The Steelers already have Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle at running back, with 2025 third-round pick Kaleb Johnson still lurking. They also signed special teams standout Travis Homer, who may end up Heidenreich’s most direct competition.
Never mind the moves the Steelers made at running back. The opening for Eli Heidenreich is clearly on special teams. This offseason alone, they parted with some of their biggest contributors. That includes special teams captain Miles Killebrew, as well as Connor Heyward and James Pierre. Other leading contributors from last season, Jabrill Peppers and Chuck Clark, are also gone. Even Kenneth Gainwell played 144 snaps. And Rico Dowdle is not a special teamer, so that could be an opening relative to the running back room.
“Somebody would have to get hurt for him to be the No. 5 or 6 receiver, so that’s gonna have to be all special teams”, Fittipaldo insisted. “I wouldn’t past him. Sometimes those guys who come from gritty situations … find ways”.
Eli Heidenreich will certainly have fan support as he seeks a spot on the 53-man roster. Not just a local kid and a Navy man but also an all-around likeable person with obvious talent, he is easy to root for. But there’s still the question of where he fits on the team—and how he transitions to NFL competition. The easiest place to transition, of course, is on special teams.
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