Pittsburgh Steelers take Connor Heyward in Round 6, giving team 4th set of brothers

PITTSBURGH — Connor Heyward walked into his mom's room in their Atlanta home when his phone started ringing. He shielded it from his big brother, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward, and answered the call.

Curious, Cam stood near him and tried to figure out who was on the phone with his brother, a running back-turned-tight end from Michigan State. On the nearby television, the Chicago Bears were making a sixth-round pick in the NFL draft, so Cam thought maybe his brother was heading to the Bears.

He tried to interrupt, asking Connor who was on the phone.

«One second,» Connor said as he walked away.

But before he could inquire further, Cam's own phone rang. It was Mike Tomlin.

«I'm like, 'Oh snap, this fool just walked away, and he didn't even tell me it was the Pittsburgh Steelers,» Cam said Saturday afternoon. «So this has been pretty priceless.

»My brother thought it would be funny to have a prank. But there will be plenty of times to get some hazing back."

By selecting Connor Heyward in the sixth round with the No. 208 pick overall, the Steelers added their fourth pair of brothers to the roster, Connor and Cam joining T.J. and Derek Watt, Terrell and Trey Edmunds, and Carlos and Khalil Davis.

«I honestly think when you have your siblings around, it makes you play that much better,» Connor said. «They can push you to the limits that your teammates can push you to, and when your brother has been tough on you, the teammates can kind of look at that and be like, „OK, he's being tough on me.“

There are currently seven sets of brothers on NFL teams. At four pairs, the Steelers have the most by a wide margin.

»We value the intangible quality," coach Mike Tomlin said, explaining the Steelers' slew of