5 biggest Steelers fan favorites of the last 20 years
- A player unlike any other at his position
- One player went from 'love' to 'loathe'
By Tommy Jaggi
3. Heath Miller
I can still hear the sound of a packed stadium erupting with a drawn-out, "Heeeeeeeath." Call him Mr. Reliable, Heath Miller was always there when the Pittsburgh Steelers needed a big third-down conversion.
From a numbers perspective, there wasn't anything gaudy about Miller. The well-rounded tight end never reached 850 receiving yards in a single season of his 11-year NFL career, nor did he surpass 8 receiving touchdowns in a year. Regardless, Heath was as stable as they came at the position.
Not only did he catch nearly 72 percent of his career targets for an impressive 8.0 yards per target, per ESPN stats, but he was also a phenomenal blocker as well. Heath was one of the last of the generation of true do-it-all tight ends. He could act as an in-line blocker in the 'Y' tight end position just as well as he could line up from the slot and catch the ball in traffic over the middle of the field.
Heath was an extremely quiet and humble player, which may be the reason why he was so popular among the Steelers fan base. Miller missed a few games here and there, but he started 167 of the 168 games he played in the NFL -- all as a member of the same team. He will forever be regarded as a fan favorite of the 2000s Pittsburgh Steelers.