Heath Miller - NFL Career

NFL Career

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Miller in the first round, thirtieth pick overall, of the 2005 NFL Draft. He was only the third tight end drafted by Pittsburgh on the first round in 28 years. In his rookie season with the Steelers, he finished with 39 receptions for 459 yards and 6 touchdowns. During a four-game stretch in his rookie season, he caught five touchdown passes and was considered a strong candidate for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Though he cooled off, he remained a solid contributor in the Steelers' 2005 Super Bowl run. Miller caught three passes for 61 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers' 21–18 upset over top-seeded Indianapolis Colts in the divisional playoff round.

In the Steelers opening game of the 2006 season, Miller caught 3 passes for 101 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown reception, the longest touchdown catch by a tight end in a regular season game since 1974. It was also the longest catch ever recorded in the Steelers home stadium, Heinz Field. Replays showed that he should have been marked out of bounds at about the one-yard line, but the play was not challenged by Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban quickly enough. Miller finished the season with 34 catches for 393 yards and 5 touchdowns.

In the 2007 Season, Miller set new career highs for touchdowns (7), receptions (47), and receiving yards (566). He benefited from new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' system of offense which called for 3 tight ends, giving Miller more chances to catch passes. 2007 was the breakout year that most experts expected him to have after being under-utilized in his first two seasons. In Super Bowl XLIII, Miller had five receptions for 57 yards to help Pittsburgh win the game. Miller won his second Super Bowl Ring. Because the Steelers do not emphasize tight ends in their passing game, he has not compiled exceptional receiving statistics. Miller is recognized for capitalizing on the opportunities that he gets, rarely dropping a pass.

On July 30, 2009, the Steelers signed Miller to a new six-year contract that binds him to the team through the 2014 season. The contract is worth $35.3 million, including a $12.5 million signing bonus.

In 2011, Heath became the Steelers' all-time leader in career receptions for a tight end, passing Elbie Nickel. In that same year, he moved into the top 5 on the Steelers' all-time receptions list, moved into the top 10 on the Steelers' all-time receiviing yards list, and was named to USA Football's All Fundamentals Team.

Miller was selected to his first Pro Bowl on January 25, 2010, replacing the Indianapolis Colts' tight end Dallas Clark who participated in the Super Bowl.

For the 2010-11 season, Miller was elected by his teammates to be the offensive captain.

On October 11, 2012 in a loss against the Tennessee Titans, Miller had 6 receptions for 67 yards moving him past Louis Lipps for third place on the steelers all time receptions list.