Steelers' Cam Heyward Issues Warning To Fans About The NFL Draft: 'This Is A PSA'

The Pittsburgh Steelers are taking part in the pre-draft charade just like the other 31 organizations in the NFL. This time of the year is interesting as every team is trying to cover up their true interests heading into the draft, as no organization wants to give away any of their plans going into the event. It is hard to cover up true intentions with things like pre-draft visits and traveling to various Pro Days, but the good franchises are able to cover their tracks while making it hard to distinguish what interest is real, and what is fake.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media on Tuesday, and he shared that he actively attempts to deceive the media when he is attending Pro Days and throughout other appearances during the pre-draft process. Head coaches try to play tricks, as do executives and agents. Steelers defensive tackle and captain, Cam Heyward spoke about this time of year during a recent episode of his podcast Not Just Football, and he issued a warning to all NFL fans about being careful with what information is being revealed.

"This is a PSA to all fans listening to the media," Heyward said. "Don't listen to these people in the last two weeks. It is a shell game for all these teams. They are talking to the media. They are putting out a million things just to see if someone, something sticks so either they can trade up, trade back, do all this. Like, I know for a fact, half of this stuff is fake. I'm not going to tell you what's fake, but I know for a fact half of this stuff is fake. And I'm not just referring to the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Heyward is right; it is common knowledge that team executives and various agents leak things to the media to try to get certain narratives going. This can help ignite certain trade talks, and it can get certain teams off of a player's scent. However, if all teams and agents are playing this type of mind game, then they all know to be cautious.

Heyward is specifically referring to people in the media who are releasing mock drafts and sound certain about what is going to happen. It is important to remember that a good draft prediction involves getting eight or so picks correct in the first round as a pundit. The bar is set relatively low, and that is with the first overall selection usually being a given. Heyward continued to speak on how fake the narratives in the media could be.

"I know that people just be talking and don't make any sense," Heyward said. "They say, 'Oh, they're going to draft this player.' Really, either an agent has influenced them to try to get the stock up, or a team's influenced them. Like, I just think there's a whole lot of click-baiting going on in the last two weeks."

There are a ton of separate parties talking behind the scenes trying to leverage one another into saying certain things, and that is a large part of what the pre-draft process is. During this time it is just important that teams trust their scouting process, while remaining ready for any scenario that could present itself throughout the event.

Steelers Fans Could Have Been Fooled By The Shedeur Sanders Hype

Shedeur Sanders has really become a possibility for Pittsburgh over the last two weeks. There has been more and more talk about the quarterback prospect falling to pick 21, but it is important that the fan base stays cautious as this could all be some sort of weird scheme drawn up by agents or front office members. 

Tomlin has also been very open about how much he like Sanders. The way he hasn't been cautious about how he has spoken about the quarterback should show that the Steelers might not actually have a chance at landing him.