The Pittsburgh Steelers have had an...interesting Day 3 of the draft this year, to say the least. Several of their picks were head-scratchers, even for many draft experts. Their final pick at 230, however, is one that fans should be able to get behind.
The Steelers added Navy running back/wide receiver and Pittsburgh native Eli Heidenreich as their final selection of the 2026 draft, and it's certainly a fun one. Heidenreich is a rare service academy player who is a legitimate prospect, and doing so as primarily a receiving threat is unheard of.
While he is listed as an RB by most scouting services, it's his ability as a receiver that made the NFL (and clearly the Steelers) value him as a draftable player. With 2025 team MVP Kenneth Gainwell leaving in free agency, Heidenreich may have a chance to earn a real role in the Steelers' backfield.
Eli Heidenreich could become the Pittsburgh Steelers' jack of all trades for Mike McCarthy's offense
Heidenreich has one of the most interesting career stat lines you will find from any prospect in this class. He racked up 1,157 yards rushing and 1,994 yards receiving in 37 games at Navy, clearly showing his rare profile as a receiving threat from the backfield.
His athletic testing was remniscent of Christian McCaffrey of all people, putting up RAS score of 9.25. Is he going to be Christian McCaffrey? Of course not, at least not as a runner. As a receiver, however, maybe he could be.
The Steelers only drafted one true wide receiver in this class with Alabama's Germie Bernard, unless you consider fourth-round kick returner Kaden Wetjen as one, so Heidenreich has the chance to compete in the backfield and in the receiver room.
If Aaron Rodgers returns, his value will only go up. No quarterback in the NFL liked targeting running backs in 2025 more than Rodgers. While I would argue that his tendency to do that is part of why the offense had such a low ceiling last season, it probably would have been even worse if he and Gainwell didn't form a strong connection in the middle of the year.
Expecting much out of a seventh-round pick is probably a fools errand, but Heidenreich is about as exciting as a player taken that late can be.
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