Eli Heidenreich
Eli Heidenreich
While many of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting spots are taken, they have plenty of depth roles still up for grabs. That includes the third running back spot. Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle will be the Steelers’ first and second running backs.
However, the Steelers will likely keep one more player at that position on their 53-man roster. Charlie Batch sees seventh-round rookie Eli Heidenreich leading that race.
“As it stands right now, you’ve got to look at Eli Heidenreich,” Batch said recently on his Snap Count podcast. “It’s a really cool story. He’s had a really good camp up to this point. And because he plays special teams, that gives him an edge over Kaleb Johnson. Those guys are going to fight it out…
“When you look at Kaleb, you look at Eli, and throw in a name in there like Travis Homer, they know there’s one position up for grabs… The reason why those two are ahead of Kaleb Johnson up until this point is because they play special teams right now,” Batch added. “That’s gonna be the key to making the roster at that third running back position… Giving Eli the slight edge at that third running back.”
That’s a surprising pick, mostly because Heidenreich hasn’t practiced much. He’s been dealing with an undisclosed injury that’s kept him out of action. While the issue doesn’t seem serious, Heidenreich needs all the time that he can get on the field.
Yes, Heidenreich had one of the best moments of this year’s draft, getting selected by his hometown team. But that doesn’t guarantee him a roster spot. Players selected as late as Heidenreich often face uphill battles to making the 53-man roster. They need as much time as possible to show what they can do.
Heidenreich’s injury makes it hard to say that he’s in the lead for the Steelers’ No. 3 running back spot. There’s also an argument to be made that Homer provides more special teams value than him. Homer has been in the league since 2019, and he’s mostly worked on special teams. He’s got experience in that aspect over Heidenreich.
Additionally, Johnson has seen some special teams work in training camp, and that includes returning kicks. While Johnson had a disaster on a kickoff return last year, the Steelers’ new regime is giving him a second chance.
Heidenreich has experience on special teams in college, but the best ability is availability. It seems like he should return to action sooner rather than later. However, missing the Steelers’ first preseason game would hurt Heidenreich.
He still has time to prove his worth, but things don’t look great for him at the moment. Homer and Johnson could just as easily take the Steelers’ third running back spot. This is a tight race, which makes any missed time hurt that much more.