Cam Heyward defends opponent Quenton Nelson in face of criticism
Cam Heyward sent a fantastic Twitter response to a post that denigrated one of his gridiron opponents.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler compiled a list of the top 10 interior linemen in the NFL. He promoted the list via Twitter with an inflammatory quote about Indianapolis Colts lineman Quenton Nelson. One NFL defensive assistant coach said their opinion of Nelson changed after seeing what Heyward did to him.
One NFL defensive assistant coach on Quenton Nelson: "Ever since I saw Cam Heyward whoop up on him, I've never looked at him the same."
Ranking the NFL's Top 10 interior O-linemen. https://t.co/1aW0BFpBkM
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 12, 2020
Heyward saw the tweet and stood up for Nelson in defense. He said that him having a good game against Nelson doesn’t devalue Nelson’s talent.
Man I’m not with that. So because I had a good game it devalues a great talent. Dude is heck of a talent. How about I’m a great player myself and we won the game simple as that. I know Q is a dog and I know it’s a 5 star match up when we line up.
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) July 12, 2020
That’s a tremendous response from Heyward, who is a great player and wants to recognize Nelson’s excellence as well.
Here are some of the clips of Heyward getting the best of Nelson during Pittsburgh’s 26-24 win over Indianapolis in November last year.
Reminder of what Heyward did to Nelson last year. Total domination. #Steelers https://t.co/RMiqh9bTPI pic.twitter.com/0azM8ElAnx
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) July 12, 2020
Nelson was the No. 6 overall draft pick in 2018 out of Notre Dame and has been an All-Pro player in both of his seasons. Heyward was a first-round pick in 2011 and has made the Pro Bowl in three straight years and was All-Pro in 2017 and 2019.
Bottom line? They’re both great players, like Heyward said, and that point should not be lost just because Heyward got the best of Nelson in last year’s matchup.