"The essence of Heath Miller could be seen in an unremarkable scene Wednesday in the Steelers' locker room.

Miller had been trying to downplay something receiver Hines Ward said about his work ethic, though the veteran tight end conceded he usually arrives at Steelers headquarters at 6:30 a.m.

A couple of minutes later, Miller called a reporter back over. By the time he got to the weight room that morning, Miller said, outside linebacker James Harrison already was drenched in sweat.

It was Miller's way of deflecting attention, and he went out of his way to do it.

Miller may be averse to calling attention to himself, but the Steelers know better when it comes to one of the best tight ends in franchise history.

His teammates voted him an offensive co-captain in 2010 because of how hard, if quietly, he works. And Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has long said Miller's value is at least a fly pattern beyond the statistics he posts.

When told Miller ranks 13th among tight ends in a poll of the NFL's top 200 players by Scouts Inc., Arians chuckled.

"I think he's the best pure tight end in the league," Arians said. "Most of those guys are not tight ends; they're wide receivers. They don't block anybody. They can't block anybody."

The 6-foot-5, 256-pound Miller is a proven blocker, and he has caught enough passes to rank second in receiving yards (3,233) for a tight end in franchise history."