Cam Heyward isn’t worried about other teams strengthening their defensive lines, including in-division rivals, the Cleveland Browns. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive tackle is so confident of his team that he wouldn’t be concerned even if the Browns drafted Penn State star DE Abdul Carter.
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Heyward, who loves focusing on his podcast during the offseason, hosted Rich Eisen on his show. He asked the analyst some rapid-fire questions about the 2025 NFL Draft, starting with the obvious one: Who will go first overall? As expected, the answer was the favorite, Cam Ward.
“Everyone under the sun in the Titans organization, including their broadcast and social teams, were there to record his Pro Day,” Eisen pointed out. “I don’t think they were doing that just to hand that content to whatever team they trade Cam Ward’s draft rights to. You know? I think it’s Cam Ward first.”
At the moment, it does feel like the Tennessee Titans are dead set on drafting Ward. Eisen then continued, unprompted, to list out how the rest of the top picks should look.
He said that, ideally, with Travis Hunter being a unicorn two-way talent, he should be drafted second. But he also recognized that the Browns would be very tempted to pair Myles Garrett with Carter.
“Despite him being a remarkable unicorn, the Browns may think it’s too good a choice to pass up putting Abdul Carter on the same line as Myles Garrett. That would create so many issues for your offensive line, to say the least,” Eisen said, hinting at the challenge the pairing would pose for Heyward’s Steelers.
Heyward jumped in at this point. He almost seemed offended by the comment. “I don’t agree,” Heyward stated. “But you’re welcome to repent.”
It’s a confident answer from Heyward and one where he had the backs of his teammates. Still, it was surprising that he didn’t think the pairing of Carter and Garrett, a former Defensive Player of the Year, would make things hard for the Steelers’ o-line. Eisen tried to explain his point, but Heyward wasn’t budging.
“You know what it’s like on that offensive line,” Eisen said. “It’s your job to create matchup problems to let your other teammates hunt. And one edge is Myles, and the other edge is Abdul Carter. Or Abdul Carter is just killing somebody on his side, and Myles Garrett goes crossover dribbling over your center.”
Eisen was referring to a clip that went viral in 2023, where Garrett was spotted mimicking a basketball crossover before a play. He used the move to perfection, blasting by the opposing center, and creating enough pressure to force a sack. But Heyward dismissed the suggestion that Garrett’s play had a major impact on the game.
“Now, I’ll give this, though. The crossover dribble, I thought, was a little bit overplayed,” Heyward said. “It didn’t really do anything. He didn’t even get the sack!”
The response made Eisen sit back in his chair as he heard Heyward out. Then he leaned over in laughter. No, Garrett didn’t get the sack on the play. But his pressure drew Joe Burrow into his teammate, who got the sack.
It seemed like Heyward just didn’t want to admit that his rival made a nice play, which is understandable. Sometimes, you can’t show your enemies any weakness or gratitude.
All in all, it was a fun chat between Eisen and Heyward. Hopefully, they will do more as we approach the NFL Draft. As mentioned, everyone more or less knows that Ward is going to Tennessee. But we’re still wondering what the Browns will do with their pick.
