The Pittsburgh Steelers have been trying to figure out their tight end position all season. With TE Pat Freiermuth out since Week Four against the Houston Texans, that has amplified the issues at the position significantly. The production isn’t much with just 152 receiving yards through seven weeks for the tight end group.
Connor Heyward is leading the way with 89 yards and Freiermuth still has the second most with 53. The Steelers have gotten two touchdowns out of the group, but both of those occurred in the first three weeks of the season to Freiermuth.
In the Steelers’ Week Eight game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the tight ends contributed just 24 yards, all from Heyward. One curious note from this game is that Rodney Williams logged more snaps than third-round rookie Darnell Washington. Washington played just 10 snaps on offense in this game compared to Williams’ 12. Washington was leading all Steelers rookies in snaps coming into this game but was surpassed by Joey Porter Jr. in Week Eight.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the division of tight end labor in his Monday press conference on the Steelers’ YouTube page.
“Just how the game was unfolding probably. We were down multiple scores, particularly late. Rodney played a lot there when we’re in a one-dimensional phase,” Tomlin said. “So sometimes snap counts don’t always reflect intentions from a planning standpoint. It’s probably more a reflection of how the game unfolded.”
So the intention probably wasn’t to get Williams on the field more than Washington, but with the Steelers trailing the Jaguars most of the game they opted to play Williams more down the stretch. Washington’s primary use so far in his rookie season has been as a blocker. He proudly dons the “sixth offensive lineman” title, but during the bye week tight end coach Aldredo Roberts seemed to think Washington would get more involved as the season and his career progress.
He certainly has the athletic profile to become a receiving threat, but it is telling that the Steelers turned to Williams in obvious passing situations while trailing late in the game. They don’t seem to think Washington is ready for that type of role. Williams was targeted twice against the Jaguars but did not record a catch. He did have a drop on first down in the fourth quarter. Washington was not targeted in this game.
