Steelers Cameron Heyward outranks Minkah Fitzpatrick in recent Top 100 list

Steelers Cameron Heyward recently outranked Minkah Fitzpatrick on Pro Football Network’s Top 100 list. Should it be the other way around? 

Cameron Heyward has been a remarkable football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After being a first-round pick in a historic 2011 NFL Draft, it took the big defensive lineman a little while to come into his own.

Heyward had just 2.5 sacks in his first two seasons combined and never earned more than 7.5 sacks in a season until his 7th year in the league. However, in 2017, Heyward broke out in a big way that concluded with Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors for the first time ever.

Since then, Heyward has been one of the best players on the Steelers. However, his production really took a hit in 2020 as he earned just 4.0 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss in 15 starts.

Over the past two years, the top two players on the Steelers have been pretty consensus. Most would agree that T.J. Watt is the top player on this team and the single most valuable asset to the organization moving forward. Behind him, Minkah Fitzpatrick is widely considered the second-best player the Steelers have (with respect to how good he is for his position).

However, Dalton Miller doesn’t see it that way. Miller recently comprised his Top 100 rankings for Pro Football Network. He had Heyward ranked 10 spots ahead of Fitzpatrick.

Miller noted that despite Heyward’s drop in statistical production this past season, he still earned Second-Team All-Pro honors. For Fitzpatrick, Miller called him a “defensive chess piece” and said that he and Jesse Bates will battle as the best safety in the league for a long time if Derwin James can’t stay healthy.

Steelers stars should be reversed on the Top 100 list

Heyward has been terrific for the Steelers, but I thoroughly believe these two should be swapped in the rankings. While you could make a case that Heyward is the third-best player on the team, most would agree that Minkah Fitzpatrick is the consensus number two player behind Watt.

You can use pretty much any metric you would choose from last season. Minkah put up elite production from the safety position – earning 4 interceptions and a defensive touchdown to go with 11 pass defenses, according to Pro Football Reference. Meanwhile, Heyward’s production was pedestrian in 2020.

Additionally, Fitzpatrick became one of the youngest players in the history of the NFL to earn his second First-Team All-Pro honors in his age-23 season last year.

Moreso, these rankings are comprised of what Dalton Miller believes these players will be in 2021. While Heyward could certainly have a bounce-back year from a statistical standpoint, Fitzpatrick is a player who hasn’t even reached his athletic prime, while Heyward (age 32) may not have as much left in the tank.

Like all rankings, Miller’s list is subjective, and there will be fans who agree that Heyward should be ranked above Fitzpatrick. For most Steelers fans, ranking the top two players on the team is pretty easy, and I think that Heyward and Fitzpatrick should have been reversed on this list.