5 bold predictions for Steelers heading into 2020 season
By Tommy Jaggi
Stephon Tuitt will outperform Cameron Heyward
This one seems extremely bold at first glance. In addition to coming off a short season where he suffered a pectoral tear, Stephon Tuitt has never earned more than 6.5 sacks in a season since entering the league back in 2014.
On the other hand, Cameron Heyward is coming off his second first-team All-Pro performance in the last three years and has gone to three straight Pro Bowls. Over that three-year span, Heyward has compiled 29.0 sacks, 37 tackles for a loss, and 63 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Reference.
Still, this is something that is within the realm of possibility for Stephon Tuitt. Through the first five weeks of the 2019 season, Tuitt was on a rampage – collecting 18 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, and 6 quarterback hits. In fact, this surge of dominance proved to be step-for-step with Heyward in nearly every statistical category.
While Tuitt is clearly on the rise, it’s possible that Heyward could take a slight step back after an All-Pro season last year. Though he’s in a contract year, Heyward is now 31 years old, and a slight dip in production shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Heyward is a terrific football player, but I think it’s possible that Tuitt could outperform him on the stat sheet in 2020.