Steelers Star Cameron Heyward Climbs Up NFL Top 100 Rankings

Cameron Heyward remains one of the NFL’s fiercest players entering his 15th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After a groin injury derailed his 2023 campaign, Heyward rebounded to earn his fourth first-team All-Pro nod with 71 tackles, eight sacks and a career-high 11 passes defended in 2024. The defensive tackle resumed his spot as the anchor of a Steelers defense that improved from 19th to sixth against the run.

Heyward received some recognition for his continued dominance. The NFL revealed Thursday that Heyward ranks No. 83 in the annual preseason NFL Top 100 list, a 15-spot climb from last summer.

“Father Time is undefeated, but he occasionally takes vacations,” NFL.com’s Bobby Kownack wrote. “Heyward enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career at age 35, a statement that could be said yearly starting with a run of seven Pro Bowls in eight campaigns dating back to 2017. Heyward was the black hole in the middle of Pittsburgh’s sixth-ranked rushing defense, closing lanes and engulfing runners with regularity. Fourteen seasons into his career, he posted an 87.1 PFF pass-rushing grade, the best he’s had yet.”

The league announced Heyward’s ranking with an NFL Films video, which noted that he’s one of just 16 players named to the NFL Top 100 at least nine times. Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen celebrated his veteran teammate.

“The old man doing it good right now,” Queen said in the NFL’s video. “I don’t know, I can’t describe it … It’s just crazy.”

Queen said Heyward’s passion for football hasn’t waned late in his career.

“The way he approaches the game, the way he cares. You know, in the speeches you can hear how much it means to him,” Queen said. “I couldn’t think of a better leader for our defense or our team than that guy.”

Heyward became the first Steelers player named to this year’s NFL Top 100. The NFL will continue a gradual reveal through Aug. 29 before disclosing the top 10 during an NFL Network special on Sept. 1.

More NFL: Steelers’ Cam Heyward Cracks Top 10 In Updated Defensive Tackle Rankings