There is nothing flashy about a seventh-round path to the NFL, and that is exactly why Eli Heidenreich’s first real chance with the Pittsburgh Steelers matters. The rookie running back is not being asked to arrive as a headline act. He is being asked to show that he can survive camp, handle the details and force his way into a roster conversation. In that sense, tonight’s preseason opener against Green Bay is less about ceremony than it is about evaluation.
Heidenreich knows the temptation to turn him into a story first and a player second. After walking onto the draft stage in full Naval dress uniform outside Acrisure Stadium in April, he has had to answer the obvious hometown questions. His response has been direct: he said people can call it a hometown pick if they want, but he is here to play football, and that is it. That is the right answer for a player trying to build something real in a crowded backfield.
A roster path built on more than novelty
The Steelers did not draft Heidenreich in the seventh round because of theater. They drafted a 6-foot, 206-pound back from Navy because there is at least some football utility to bet on, and because late-round players have to offer more than one lane to make the team. For Heidenreich, that lane may be special teams, which is often where roster bubbles are hardened into jobs. He has been attaching himself to backfield coach Ramon Chinyoung since camp started, a sign that he understands how narrow the margin is for a player in his position.
That is where the preseason opener becomes useful. The game is not just a first snapshot against Green Bay; it is a chance to see whether Heidenreich can translate camp work into something visible under game conditions. He has also had to deal with a recent hamstring tweak that limited him for a stretch, which makes the timing of this first appearance even more relevant. A rookie trying to climb the depth chart cannot afford too many missed reps, especially when the fight is not only for touches but for trust.
On Tuesday, his No. 29 was noticeable during a walkthrough, a small detail but one that hints at how close he is to getting his first live opportunity. That matters because preseason football is often less about who can make the biggest play and more about who can stay available, steady and correct. For a seventh-round flyer from Navy, the formula is simple: show reliability, contribute on special teams, and make it hard for the Steelers to look past you.
Heidenreich also enters this moment with the kind of shadow comparisons that follow almost every rookie with a familiar path. He said Christian McCaffrey is “a fantastic player and one of the best to ever do it,” adding that he looks up to him and tries to model certain parts of his game. He also acknowledged that people get fired up about the comparisons one way or the other. That is fair, but the Steelers do not need him to be Christian McCaffrey. They need him to be useful enough, consistent enough and healthy enough to matter.
That is the real story tonight in Pittsburgh. Homecoming narratives can be fun, and the overlap between Mike McCarthy and Eli Heidenreich only adds to the frame, but roster decisions are rarely sentimental. If Heidenreich is going to stick, it will be because he makes a case on the field, not because the backstory is neat. The preseason opener against Green Bay is his first opportunity to start doing exactly that.
