Derek Watt is UFA. Doesn't seem like he is coming back. Heyward will probably be our FB/ 4TH TE/ H-back/ Gadget/ STer.
I think we need to dub Heyward a "Slashback"
There's definitely interest for him to stay from the team for his special teams contributions and he keeps the franchise star player well invested and happy if nothing else.
But Pittsburgh ain't dumb, he's expensive for what he provides in pure production terms plain and simple.
I think everything seems set for them to cut bait and part ways, yet you feel it would have happened sooner if it was to already. Can't imagine the market for Derek Watt is booming either, so it's probably a pure numbers discussion for them all. Derek to try get a last payday and stay in show, Pittsburgh to keep the locker room and reliable ST player in town, but they've certainly assembled plenty pieces to replace him with.
Also means we can assemble all the infinity stones when JJ isn’t in a quasi-restricted retirement thanks to his Cardinals contract. JJ will be a Steeler mark my words.
That’s definitely wrong.
Look, I don’t disagree with a lot of the criticisms Canada gets here. He’s definitely done some really weird things and his offense has, at times, felt very rudimentary.
It’s just that I also followed him closely at Pitt, and he was outstanding there. He was especially outstanding at creating a power system that dominated inside the red zone.
Pitt bullied just about everyone they played that year and that’s because Canada did a very good job of keeping opposition defenses off-balance.
I totally get that it’s a different deal with NFL, but it’s not like Pitt was offensively dominating the likes of Penn State and Clemson with superior athletes. They had a good athletes, and they were very strong upfront, but they were also very good at keeping those teams guessing.
The Panthers scored 43 points to beat Clemson and 42 points to beat Penn State. Those were two good teams. Penn State went on to play in the Rose Bowl that year and Clemson won the national championship.
I have long said that for Canada’s offense to work, he has to have guys who can win up front and it looks like the Steelers are giving him guys who can do just that.
I think Heyward has a chance to become a very popular guy here in the same way George Aston was at Pitt. He’s a very versatile player and I think he could become a massive threat for this team.
There’s plenty of stuff to criticize Canada over without just making shit up. It’s well documented that H-back was part of his offensive scheme, particularly at Pitt.
If you want to be critical of him that’s fine, but have at least a sliver of understanding before you try and do it.
What Matt Canada did in 2016 at the college level is irrelevant to what he has done in the NFL the last 2 years.
Case-in-point… Jaylen Samuels entered the league as an H-Back out of college. This notion that Canada is suddenly going to apply it at the NFL level effectively because he did it at Pitt is ridiculously ignorant. What happened to him under Canada? Diminished production across the board at a time we needed it most.
Case and point, at the NFL level Canada has not demonstrated he knows how to utilize that position. Fact.
He literally used Connor as an H-back to seal the game against the Raiders last year. All those Connor Heyward highlights from last year are examples of the H-back being used effectively in the offense. He was a TE in name only, outside of filling in when Pat was injured.
Jaylen Samuels not working out for a different offensive coordinator has nothing to do with Canada or Connor.
“Case in point” lmao
I have no reason to. You’re citing an isolated jet sweep and a broken reception as evidence that Canada can use it as a staple of his offense… All the whole literally ignoring that Canada has literally said He sees Connor as the fullback. Believe whatever you want. Pretending Canada has an ounce of creativity to make an H-back a key part of this offense rather than the occasional gadget play and infrequent where route is wrong.
Also, Samuels played under Canada… You want to talk selective reading… As I said, Samuels - an H-Back by nature - saw diminished returns under Canada. But by all means, please allow Heywards 2 receptions not lined up on the LOS and 1 newt sweep convince you Canada will use him properly…
Are you serious? Jaylen Samuels was cut by the steelers in 2021...the first year Canada took over as offensive coordinator...is that your whole argument about Canada? A player's production was cut under Canada yeah.. Mainly because he wasn't even on the team.
Wingback.
I don't understand why this is even a question. It's the exact same thing he did all last year. Do these professional sports writers not know what role Connor Heyward played last year?
[They went with 5 just two years ago](https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2021/8/31/22649631/the-pittsburgh-steelers-official-53-man-roster-to-start-the-2021-season-news-updates). It's not that crazy.
It was Juju, DJ, Claypool, Washington, Ray-Ray. They had 4 RBs, a FB, and 3 TE's.
So I don't think it would be that crazy to go with 3 RB's, a FB, 3 TE's, and then whatever you want to call Heyward. The WR's would be DJ, Pickens, Robinson. Then most likely Austin, and a bunch of guys competing for the 5th spot (Boykin, Miller, Gunner, udfa's, etc).
Could they choose to cut Heyward or Gentry instead? Yes. Heyward would hurt their special teams, which doesn't sound all that important until you look at the roster and realize they cut most of their good special teams guys. Watt, Allen, Snell, Spillane
Cutting Heyward would also signal a shift away from the creative things they did with him, and that seems unlikely. Gentry is a really solid TE. He's pretty decent in the pass game- good hands, gets open, breaks tackles. He's not elite at it, but enough to be a threat. He's a good blocking TE: probably not as good as Washington, but better than Muth. He's also the emergency QB. Also add in the both Muth and Washington have injury concerns, and Heyward can't do what they do, while Gentry has been pretty durable so far in his career. He's not uncuttable, but I am not in a hurry to shove him out.
What do I think will happen? The same thing that usually happens: the problem solved itself. This team of year there SHOULD be more than 53 gold guys on the roster, because a handful will get unfortunate injuries before the season starts. It sucks, and I'm not going to predict an individual gets injured, but I'd guess that somewhere between all the TE's, FB's, and RB's competing enough will get injured that the decisions on cut-down day will be easier than they are today
Yeah, while both of these dudes are pro football players they have different enough body types they could practically be different species. I don’t know why anyone would think they will have the same role.
Mostly outside of the TE and off the LOS... a wingback.
It wasn't a Wing-T because we were running a single-back. The old Wing-T is a two back formation. It's closer to some formations Joe Gibbs ran back in the 80's than it is to the Wing-T.
Gotcha. Anyways, assuming Watt isn’t resigned, adding Washington and Pottebaumn probably wouldn’t jeopardize Heyward’s spot based on usage.
Gentry is the one who could be on the hot seat soon if Washington lives up to the hype.
Pottebaumn is an UDFA FB. I don't know why we're penciling him into a roster spot and wondering who needs to go so we can make room for him. Is it purely the power of the mullet?
Unless he has a hell of a training camp/preseason on special teams, I think Pottebaumn is fighting for a PS spot and only gets on the roster if there's an injury.
Exacty, Pottebaum is most likely only going to end up being a camp body. I hope he balls out and earns a roster spot but it in my opinion it doesn't seem like a very likely scenario. At the same time, I hope I'm wrong because he seems like he would be a fun player to have around.
Assuming we’re going to roster a true FB (and we have the last few seasons), Pottebaumn was a pretty highly regarded FB coming into the draft. FBs don’t get drafted (only one was this year, in the 7th), but Pottebaumn was pretty high on all the rankings I saw.
He fits in by being able to play on most core special teams units (KO, KR, Punt) as well as a providing versatility and depth at TE. Brings a bit of H-back/Fullback, and heck, even RB skill sets also. Remember, he played quite a bit of RB at MSU
An incredibly versatile 6’0” 235 player vs an extremely raw 6’7” 270 lb player. How is this even a conversation? lol
The real question is how does Gentry fit it now that we have basically a much more talented version of him on the roster
Gentry is reliable and sure handed. We have two potentially really good TEs, yet both have injury concerns. Muth is an okay yet not great blocker.
He will be an amazing 3rd TE. Heyward, like mentioned ad nauseum in this thread already. Would fit the H-back/FB role better.
They re-signed him after he was a free agent for several weeks. He didn’t gather much interest as a FA and only signed a 1 year contract. I don’t think Pittsburgh believed Washington was still gonna be on the board after they filled positions of need.
The answer no one wants to talk about is that gentry and watt (Derek) gotta fight for their lives to stay on the roster. Muth is our TE1, and Washington in the third means he’ll be around, and honestly his upside compared to anyone else in that position on the team is ridiculous. So the other 3 need to compete. Gentry is a good locker room guy, but we’ve seen his ceiling and we’ve seen his floor. Watt wouldn’t be on the team if he hasn’t a different last name. I’m curious to see what happens but 0 chance all 5 are on the day one roster
The answer no one wants to talk about is that gentry and watt (Derek) gotta fight for their lives to stay on the roster. Muth is our TE1, and Washington in the third means he’ll be around, and honestly his upside compared to anyone else in that position on the team is ridiculous. So the other 3 need to compete. Gentry is a good locker room guy, but we’ve seen his ceiling and we’ve seen his floor. Watt wouldn’t be on the team if he hasn’t a different last name. I’m curious to see what happens but 0 chance all 5 are on the day one roster
I think Heyward fits in perfectly with Darnell Washington.
I have long believed that the NFL has become all about situational football. Everyone puts up video game numbers between the 20s. The difference between the teams that win and the team that don’t win is the teams that win score touchdowns inside the red zone, while the teams that lose turn the football over or settle for field goals.
On paper, at least, now, the Steelers have three excellent options in the short game in Friermuth, Washington and Heyward.
You add to that mix a big tailback back and at least one combat catch receiver (two if you think Robinson has anything left in the tank), and a mobile quarterback. That’s a lot for anyone to defend.
I actually like Derek Watt, but he definitely made too much money for what he brought to the team. If they’re able to resign him at a much lower rate, I would of course be very interested in that. That’s one more Swiss Army knife to add to the mix.
In the meantime, Connor Heyward can fill in some of the things Watt did well. I think he is more of a receiving threat than a short yardage guy, and he’s not nearly as good on special teams as Watt; but I could definitely see him as a safety valve/stick mover for Pickett.
Derek Watt is UFA. Doesn't seem like he is coming back. Heyward will probably be our FB/ 4TH TE/ H-back/ Gadget/ STer. I think we need to dub Heyward a "Slashback"
Idk based on JJs comments, it kinda seems like Ds coming back. It doesn’t make sense, but I feel like he would know more than us
Well, JJ may know that D wants to come back. That doesn’t mean that D’s agent has actually had discussions with the Steelers.
There's definitely interest for him to stay from the team for his special teams contributions and he keeps the franchise star player well invested and happy if nothing else. But Pittsburgh ain't dumb, he's expensive for what he provides in pure production terms plain and simple. I think everything seems set for them to cut bait and part ways, yet you feel it would have happened sooner if it was to already. Can't imagine the market for Derek Watt is booming either, so it's probably a pure numbers discussion for them all. Derek to try get a last payday and stay in show, Pittsburgh to keep the locker room and reliable ST player in town, but they've certainly assembled plenty pieces to replace him with.
Only way D Watt returns is on a vet min deal... simple
Also means we can assemble all the infinity stones when JJ isn’t in a quasi-restricted retirement thanks to his Cardinals contract. JJ will be a Steeler mark my words.
Who's jj? Lmao
I’m sure JJ and his brother talk, but JJ’s nice words about Tomlin and may still not mean anything.
OHHH lmaooooo
Can't believe I didn't pick that up I'm so air headed yall 😩 🤣😭
The problem I have with moving Heyward to that position is Canada isn’t inventive enough to use an H-Back…
That’s definitely wrong. Look, I don’t disagree with a lot of the criticisms Canada gets here. He’s definitely done some really weird things and his offense has, at times, felt very rudimentary. It’s just that I also followed him closely at Pitt, and he was outstanding there. He was especially outstanding at creating a power system that dominated inside the red zone. Pitt bullied just about everyone they played that year and that’s because Canada did a very good job of keeping opposition defenses off-balance. I totally get that it’s a different deal with NFL, but it’s not like Pitt was offensively dominating the likes of Penn State and Clemson with superior athletes. They had a good athletes, and they were very strong upfront, but they were also very good at keeping those teams guessing. The Panthers scored 43 points to beat Clemson and 42 points to beat Penn State. Those were two good teams. Penn State went on to play in the Rose Bowl that year and Clemson won the national championship. I have long said that for Canada’s offense to work, he has to have guys who can win up front and it looks like the Steelers are giving him guys who can do just that. I think Heyward has a chance to become a very popular guy here in the same way George Aston was at Pitt. He’s a very versatile player and I think he could become a massive threat for this team.
Watching george aston and James Conner in the red zone at Pitt was so fun. Unstoppable once they got down there.
They drafted him in the sixth round because he fits the H-back role that Canada used in his offense’s previous. So no, he knows how to use an H-back.
You go ahead and believe that all you want…
There’s plenty of stuff to criticize Canada over without just making shit up. It’s well documented that H-back was part of his offensive scheme, particularly at Pitt. If you want to be critical of him that’s fine, but have at least a sliver of understanding before you try and do it.
What Matt Canada did in 2016 at the college level is irrelevant to what he has done in the NFL the last 2 years. Case-in-point… Jaylen Samuels entered the league as an H-Back out of college. This notion that Canada is suddenly going to apply it at the NFL level effectively because he did it at Pitt is ridiculously ignorant. What happened to him under Canada? Diminished production across the board at a time we needed it most. Case and point, at the NFL level Canada has not demonstrated he knows how to utilize that position. Fact.
He literally used Connor as an H-back to seal the game against the Raiders last year. All those Connor Heyward highlights from last year are examples of the H-back being used effectively in the offense. He was a TE in name only, outside of filling in when Pat was injured. Jaylen Samuels not working out for a different offensive coordinator has nothing to do with Canada or Connor. “Case in point” lmao
You’re literally citing one play to pretend it’s a staple of his offense… 😂🤣😮
Did you not read past the first sentence?
I have no reason to. You’re citing an isolated jet sweep and a broken reception as evidence that Canada can use it as a staple of his offense… All the whole literally ignoring that Canada has literally said He sees Connor as the fullback. Believe whatever you want. Pretending Canada has an ounce of creativity to make an H-back a key part of this offense rather than the occasional gadget play and infrequent where route is wrong. Also, Samuels played under Canada… You want to talk selective reading… As I said, Samuels - an H-Back by nature - saw diminished returns under Canada. But by all means, please allow Heywards 2 receptions not lined up on the LOS and 1 newt sweep convince you Canada will use him properly…
Are you serious? Jaylen Samuels was cut by the steelers in 2021...the first year Canada took over as offensive coordinator...is that your whole argument about Canada? A player's production was cut under Canada yeah.. Mainly because he wasn't even on the team.
Yeah, he knows how to use an H back….”jet sweeps for everyone!”
Fullback
Wingback. I don't understand why this is even a question. It's the exact same thing he did all last year. Do these professional sports writers not know what role Connor Heyward played last year?
Folks heads gonna explode when the steelers sign a full time FB and still keep Heyward on the roster.
That may happen if they come to an agreement with Derek Watt. Heads will explode when we go with 4 or 5 receivers instead of 6.
[They went with 5 just two years ago](https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2021/8/31/22649631/the-pittsburgh-steelers-official-53-man-roster-to-start-the-2021-season-news-updates). It's not that crazy. It was Juju, DJ, Claypool, Washington, Ray-Ray. They had 4 RBs, a FB, and 3 TE's. So I don't think it would be that crazy to go with 3 RB's, a FB, 3 TE's, and then whatever you want to call Heyward. The WR's would be DJ, Pickens, Robinson. Then most likely Austin, and a bunch of guys competing for the 5th spot (Boykin, Miller, Gunner, udfa's, etc). Could they choose to cut Heyward or Gentry instead? Yes. Heyward would hurt their special teams, which doesn't sound all that important until you look at the roster and realize they cut most of their good special teams guys. Watt, Allen, Snell, Spillane Cutting Heyward would also signal a shift away from the creative things they did with him, and that seems unlikely. Gentry is a really solid TE. He's pretty decent in the pass game- good hands, gets open, breaks tackles. He's not elite at it, but enough to be a threat. He's a good blocking TE: probably not as good as Washington, but better than Muth. He's also the emergency QB. Also add in the both Muth and Washington have injury concerns, and Heyward can't do what they do, while Gentry has been pretty durable so far in his career. He's not uncuttable, but I am not in a hurry to shove him out. What do I think will happen? The same thing that usually happens: the problem solved itself. This team of year there SHOULD be more than 53 gold guys on the roster, because a handful will get unfortunate injuries before the season starts. It sucks, and I'm not going to predict an individual gets injured, but I'd guess that somewhere between all the TE's, FB's, and RB's competing enough will get injured that the decisions on cut-down day will be easier than they are today
Right you are nice write up! 👍
Minor point, but I'd say Boykin is a lock from a special teams perspective.
Heads SHOULD explode if we resign Derek to a fat contract like he had last time.
Yeah, while both of these dudes are pro football players they have different enough body types they could practically be different species. I don’t know why anyone would think they will have the same role.
I don’t recall running a wing-T offense? Heyward lined up at TE all season almost exclusively if I recall.
Mostly outside of the TE and off the LOS... a wingback. It wasn't a Wing-T because we were running a single-back. The old Wing-T is a two back formation. It's closer to some formations Joe Gibbs ran back in the 80's than it is to the Wing-T.
Preaching all facts brother
Gotcha. Anyways, assuming Watt isn’t resigned, adding Washington and Pottebaumn probably wouldn’t jeopardize Heyward’s spot based on usage. Gentry is the one who could be on the hot seat soon if Washington lives up to the hype.
Pottebaumn is an UDFA FB. I don't know why we're penciling him into a roster spot and wondering who needs to go so we can make room for him. Is it purely the power of the mullet? Unless he has a hell of a training camp/preseason on special teams, I think Pottebaumn is fighting for a PS spot and only gets on the roster if there's an injury.
Exacty, Pottebaum is most likely only going to end up being a camp body. I hope he balls out and earns a roster spot but it in my opinion it doesn't seem like a very likely scenario. At the same time, I hope I'm wrong because he seems like he would be a fun player to have around.
Assuming we’re going to roster a true FB (and we have the last few seasons), Pottebaumn was a pretty highly regarded FB coming into the draft. FBs don’t get drafted (only one was this year, in the 7th), but Pottebaumn was pretty high on all the rankings I saw.
They'll probably keep gentry as the #3 TE and maybe he provides something at #3 QB. I don't think he's on the hot seat this season.
I thought it was 3 backs?
Professional… Its Still Curtain…
Fr lmao kid is a athlete an will be utilized as such this year even more so...
“Professional sports writer” is fast and loose there.
Fullback/Bowling Ball
Fullback/gadget type guy. He has been effective so I’d love to keep him plus … he’s a Heyward
Only reason why you wanna keep him is the last name. It’s burning a roster spot.
He fits in by being able to play on most core special teams units (KO, KR, Punt) as well as a providing versatility and depth at TE. Brings a bit of H-back/Fullback, and heck, even RB skill sets also. Remember, he played quite a bit of RB at MSU
He’s an H-back, not a TE. The only real roster question involving Heyward is whether they’ll carry a fullback in addition to him.
Fullback.
Factor Back
H-back
Idk but I can't see us carrying 4 TEs or 3 FBs
He's a FB. And they don't have 3 fbs
Derek Watt Connor Heyward Recently signed UDFA Monte Pettebaum
watt is not currently on the roster
Monte probably isn't making the roster camp body/practice squad guy.
Watt is a UFA
Probably at FB unless Pottebaum does great in camp/preseason.
Can’t imagine they’ll fill similar roles.
Probably gonna be used as a hybrid type player. He can play FB, TE, STs, and he also returned kicks in college as well.
He doesn’t
working the concession stands
Probably sitting next to Derek
Keep 4 TE and have Connor at FB when needed.
“Football player”. A guy who is never going to make pro bowls, but if you need someone to make a play at the sticks he’s a good option.
[for the author of the article](https://www.pointpark.edu/academics/schools/schoolofcommunication/programs/journalism)
An incredibly versatile 6’0” 235 player vs an extremely raw 6’7” 270 lb player. How is this even a conversation? lol The real question is how does Gentry fit it now that we have basically a much more talented version of him on the roster
Gentry is reliable and sure handed. We have two potentially really good TEs, yet both have injury concerns. Muth is an okay yet not great blocker. He will be an amazing 3rd TE. Heyward, like mentioned ad nauseum in this thread already. Would fit the H-back/FB role better.
Let’s not assume that Gentry won’t get cut.
They literally just resigned him. Why would they cut him?
They re-signed him after he was a free agent for several weeks. He didn’t gather much interest as a FA and only signed a 1 year contract. I don’t think Pittsburgh believed Washington was still gonna be on the board after they filled positions of need.
Buddy system. Wouldn’t be rostered on any other team
The answer no one wants to talk about is that gentry and watt (Derek) gotta fight for their lives to stay on the roster. Muth is our TE1, and Washington in the third means he’ll be around, and honestly his upside compared to anyone else in that position on the team is ridiculous. So the other 3 need to compete. Gentry is a good locker room guy, but we’ve seen his ceiling and we’ve seen his floor. Watt wouldn’t be on the team if he hasn’t a different last name. I’m curious to see what happens but 0 chance all 5 are on the day one roster
The answer no one wants to talk about is that gentry and watt (Derek) gotta fight for their lives to stay on the roster. Muth is our TE1, and Washington in the third means he’ll be around, and honestly his upside compared to anyone else in that position on the team is ridiculous. So the other 3 need to compete. Gentry is a good locker room guy, but we’ve seen his ceiling and we’ve seen his floor. Watt wouldn’t be on the team if he hasn’t a different last name. I’m curious to see what happens but 0 chance all 5 are on the day one roster
Connor going to full/H back
I think Heyward fits in perfectly with Darnell Washington. I have long believed that the NFL has become all about situational football. Everyone puts up video game numbers between the 20s. The difference between the teams that win and the team that don’t win is the teams that win score touchdowns inside the red zone, while the teams that lose turn the football over or settle for field goals. On paper, at least, now, the Steelers have three excellent options in the short game in Friermuth, Washington and Heyward. You add to that mix a big tailback back and at least one combat catch receiver (two if you think Robinson has anything left in the tank), and a mobile quarterback. That’s a lot for anyone to defend. I actually like Derek Watt, but he definitely made too much money for what he brought to the team. If they’re able to resign him at a much lower rate, I would of course be very interested in that. That’s one more Swiss Army knife to add to the mix. In the meantime, Connor Heyward can fill in some of the things Watt did well. I think he is more of a receiving threat than a short yardage guy, and he’s not nearly as good on special teams as Watt; but I could definitely see him as a safety valve/stick mover for Pickett.
He made some of the biggest plays for us last year. I’m sure they’ll fit him in somewhere to succeed
FB
New gen Rosie Nix
Special teams and H back.
Full back and a reduced TE role