The buzz surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers offensively entering the 2023 season is reaching a crescendo at this point. Quite honestly, it be most anticipated group the Steelers have had since maybe the 2008 defense.
Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett has been tabbed as the next great, young quarterback in the NFL. Second-year wide receiver George Pickens called “more talented” than the game’s best receiver in Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson. A rebuilt offensive line led by free agent signee Isaac Seumalo. Don’t forget about a dynamic 1-2 punch in the backfield in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Rookie tight end Darnell Washington being an otherworldly super human overall.
Out of all those names and groups within the offense receiving a ton of attention, know who is flying under the radar this season?
That’s right, it’s third-year tight end Pat Freiermuth, the guy that might be the best piece on the offense in the Black and Gold.
In an off-season featuring a ton of overall hype and general buzz from the fan base and the national media, Freiermuth has seemingly been forgotten about.
Through two seasons, Freiermuth has hauled in 123 passes for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns. That included a stellar rookie season in 2021 with Ben Roethlisberger under center, hauling in 60 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns. In Year Two, Freiermuth increased his receptions to 63 and yards to 732, but the touchdowns didn’t follow as the Steelers had some struggles in the red zone offensively.
Freiermuth certainly is one of the most exciting young tight ends in the NFL, in large part due to his consistency, both from a production standpoint and with his hands in general. He seemingly catches everything and is a chain-moving machine. His 37 receptions that went for first downs last season was fifth-best among tight ends in the NFL.
Based on the work he did with Pickett last season, a full season together could lead to serious magic. Based on averages that Freiermuth put up with Pickett at quarterback in 2022, the Penn State product could reach 80 receptions for nearly 1,000 yards, which was the pace the two had in the seven games last season extrapolated over a 17-game season.
That’s a pretty remarkable projection overall for a tight end in the Steelers’ offense.
Yet, he’s flying under the radar and is seemingly overlooked in the Steelers offense nationally.
That’s a mistake — and seemingly a common one when it comes to Freiermuth in recent years.
He might not be in the converaion with Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, San Francisco’s George Kittle or Baltimore’s Mark Andrews when it comes to true game-breaking, No. 1-target type talents, but his play and production is pushing closer to that discussion.
If he can stay healthy, he’ll feast in the middle of the field in Pittsburgh’s offense, especially with a guy that trusts him immensely in Pickett throwing him the football.
The Steelers have already shown during the preseason that they’re going to attack the middle of the field more in 2023, and that bodes well for Freiermuth overall. With the likes of wide receiver Diontae Johnson and Pickens on the outside drawing a lot of attention, that should free up the middle of the field for Freiermuth in more advantageous matchups overall.
Getting that guy one on one in the middle of the field against a linebacker or safety is a win for the Steelers overall. Add in the fact that Pickett has great accuracy and trusts Freiermuth enough to put it anywhere in his vicinity, it could be a monster year for the Penn State product through the air.
Seemingly all of the attention offensively for Pittsburgh is being placed on Pickett, the running backs, Johnson and Pickens — and for good reason — but the fact that Freiermuth is being overlooked and is rarely brought up in the discussion with the Steelers’ offense entering a potentially massive 2023 season is puzzling.
He might be forgotten about a bit right now, but once the games start and he produces at a high level, he’ll force his way into those conversations — again.
