Now that the regular season has begun, following yet another year of disappointment, a fourth consecutive season with no postseason victories, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically where Steelers players stand individually based on what we have seen and are seeing over the course of the offseason and the regular season as it plays out. We will also be reviewing players based on their previous season and their prospects for the future. A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasoning. In some cases, it will be based on more long-term trends. In other instances, it will be a direct response to something that just happened. Because of this, we can and will see a player more than once over the course of the season as we move forward.
Player: TE Pat Freiermuth
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The rookie tight end continues to be more and more involved in the offense on a weekly basis, and made what is perhaps the play of the season for the Steelers so far with an impressive game-winning touchdown grab on fourth down.
There is a debate to be had about positional value relative to team needs, and it is one that takes place every year during the draft. The value analytics folks were none too pleased with the Steelers’ first two picks of running back Najee Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth, but they’ve pretty much been their offense lately, and scored Pittsburgh’s only touchdowns yesterday.
Freiermuth in particular made the play of the Steelers’ season so far. The second-round tight end came down with an extraordinarily difficult reception on 4th and goal from the two-yard line in the fourth quarter with Cleveland Browns safety Ronnie Harrison’s arm in between his. He had to double-catch the ball before dragging his back foot to stay inbounds with possession.
That wasn’t his only play of the day, of course. With Eric Ebron out, Freiermuth was called upon substantially, finishing the game with four receptions for 44 yards, including a 22-yard grab. He also had an 11-yard reception on 2nd and 7 in the first quarter.
The rookie has 11 receptions for over 100 yards in the past two games, and has found the end zone twice on the season. He also continues to make strides as a blocker, an aspect of the game to which he is committed.
Meanwhile, it can’t be left unsaid that Zach Gentry continues to come along as well. Not only does he remain their primary blocking tight end, he also caught three passes yesterday for 39 yards, including a 20-yard reception, the Steelers getting a 7-for-83 day out of their young tight end pair. But we’ll probably be talking about Gentry in this column later in the week, as well.
