Steelers, Alex Tecza keep teammate streak with Navy's Eli Heidenreich alive

Steelers, Alex Tecza keep teammate streak with Navy's Eli Heidenreich alive originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Pittsburgh Steelers delivered one of the coolest moments of the 2026 NFL Draft when they picked Navy's Eli Heidenreich in the seventh round.

Heidenreich is a Pittsburgh native who won a state championship at Mt. Lebanon and now brings his multi-faceted skillset to the NFL.

The Steelers have now decided they needed one of Heidenreich's teammates.

That is, his nearly lifelong teammate, Alex Tecza.

Heidenreich and Tecza have played together all the way up the ladder, and now, the Steelers have signed Tecza for rookie minicamp.

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This isn't a guarantee of anything beyond the rookie camp. Tecza doesn't have as clear an NFL future as Heidenreich.

Heidenreich runs a 4.44-second 40-yard dash and has skills as both a runner and a receiver.

In Navy's offense, Tecza was the power back, more of a fullback type who would run right up the middle for tough yardage.

The Midshipmen offense did limit Tecza's ability to show if he has a wider-ranging skillset, but from what teams saw, he was deemed only worthy of a rookie minicamp tryout and nothing more.

That doesn't mean he won't prove people wrong. And alongside Heidenreich, he should feel quite comfortable.

Regardless, it's a cool connection to continue on, regardless of how much longer the pair gets to be teammates.

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