Before practice, his Hall of Fame quarterback heaped praise on him.

A couple of hours later, Connor Heyward delivered one of his best practices of this Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.

Heyward, a fourth-year tight end, was brought up unsolicited by Aaron Rodgers, who said: “Connor does the right thing every time. He’s a really smart football player.”

Heyward showed that early on in team drills during what was the final practice of the year at Saint Vincent College. He beat DeShon Elliott cleanly for a catch in a one-on-one red-zone rep.

Heyward’s highlight of the day, though, was a one-handed catch brought in during a team drill off a pass from Mason Rudolph later in practice. After beating Miles Killebrew while cutting across the middle of the field, Heyward reached up with his right hand to reel in a high throw.

Later on, Heyward was the target on the first rep of a seven-on-seven period.

Particularly after the release this week of undrafted rookie fullback/tight end DJ Thomas-Jones, Heyward’s roster spot is safe. Especially now that he has the trust of his new quarterback. Another tight end, Darnell Washington, wrapped up what has been an eye-popping camp with a solid practice. His catch in the “seven shots” 2-point conversion simulation showed the type of “cheat code” the 6-foot-7 Washington is: He towered over a helpless Elliott, who was in good coverage for a fade route catch from Rodgers.

Washington, toward the end of practice, had a catch over 6-foot-1 coverage linebacker Cole Holcomb. But his Tuesday highlight might have been during a rep in the one-on-one red zone drill in which he beat linebacker Mark Robinson. It was not so much with his towering size but his quickness. After getting open to make the easy catch, Washington flexed and pointed to his right bicep while smiling and looking over at the defense.

• The offense finished the public portion of the practice season by prevailing 5-2 in seven shots. The starting offense with Rodgers went 2 for 2 — Washington’s score, plus a Jaylen Warren run up the middle — but had a fade from Rodgers to DK Metcalf broken up by Joey Porter Jr.

• The Mason Rudolph-led second team split two reps. It scored on a pretty slant run by Brandon Johnson, who beat James Pierre. But Daryl Porter intercepted a pass intended for Max Hurleman on the next snap. Hurleman ultimately ripped the ball out of Porter’s hands, but, by that point, it most likely would have been blown dead as an INT.

• Skylar Thompson engineered two seven shots scores: a Lew Nichols up-the-middle carry and a Lance McCutcheon catch inside the left pylon in front of Pierre.

• Jalen Ramsey returned to practice after a week off and made himself quickly apparent when he had blanket coverage on Metcalf in the one-on-one red-zone drill and batted down a Rodgers pass.

• After a few days last week in which he appeared to be emerging, Roman Wilson had a mostly flat practice Tuesday. His only noticeable catch was a very handsy rep in the aforementioned red-zone drill, and even defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander seemed pleased with cornerback D’Shawn Jamison after it. Later in practice, a pass fell incomplete off Wilson’s arms in a team drill. And at one point during another team period, Pierre jumped a ball intended for Wilson for an interception.

• The defense was getting pressure from all three levels on quarterbacks throughout the team drills of practice. During a particularly unproductive period by the offense, veteran tight end Pat Freiermuth yelled at his unit teammates, using an expletive to decry a lack of energy from offensive players.

• Wide receiver Roc Taylor is an undrafted rookie fans have noticed during camp. On the final day at Saint Vincent, Taylor made a handful of catches. One was on the back shoulder along the side of the end zone, deftly getting his feet in. Another was a catch on a long throw in seven-on-seven that was maybe 30 yards downfield and likely would have resulted in a long touchdown.

• Holcomb had a few noticeable plays in the camp finale. The biggest highlight was an interception of Rudolph on a throw intended for Johnson in a team drill.

• As his “hold in” continues, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward kept a low profile Tuesday, even during stretches and individual workout periods.

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