Throughout his career, the blocking of Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth has largely been in question.
At one point in the 2022 season, Freiermuth’s blocking was a major liability. That carried over into this season as early on Freiermuth was an absolute zero as a blocker for the Black and Gold before getting hurt and missing a chunk of games.
Now though, late in the season, Freiermuth has elevated his game as a blocker and is more than holding his own in that area. That was the case on Sunday in the 30-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks as Freiermuth, along with all of the Steelers’ tight ends, performed quite well as blockers as the Steelers ran a lot of 13 personnel.
For Freiermuth, he feels like he’s doing well as a blocker but knows that the work doesn’t stop in that area of his game.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m doing well. Obviously, it’s gonna be a part of my game that I always have to work on and improve on,” Freiermuth said to reporters Tuesday, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “But I feel like I’m doing a great job of recent, and I continue to build on that and that’s something that I’m always gonna have to work on.”
Coming out of Penn State in the 2021 NFL Draft, blocking was an area of his game that was in question. There was a clear willingness to do it, but his technique and consistency were suspect. Then, as a rookie had had some great moments as a blocker.
It fell off after that though and bottomed out this season during a rough stretch that saw Freiermuth get criticized by former Steelers running back Merril Hoge, who stated that the tight ends looked like two turtles humping when trying to block, meaning embarrassing.
Freiermuth heard the message loud and clear, and he’s elevated his game in recent week. He’s felt a noticeable difference in his blocking in recent weeks. The tape has shown that, too.
“Yeah, for sure. I’ve definitely felt it,” Freiermuth added regarding his blocking. “But like I said, can’t get leaning on it and say, ‘Oh, I’ve done great the past couple weeks, I’m good.’ It’s always gonna be an evolution of my game.”
Blocking is an evolution in everyone’s game. It’s not something you perfect because you’re going against another man each and every snap. Things happen in those moments. You could have the best technique in the world or be incredibly strong, but one false step, your hand placement is off just slightly, or you take an angle that is just slightly off, and you can lose the rep.
Therefore, it’s something that has to be worked on daily, as much as possible. Blocking is a game of attrition. Anything can happen.
Right now, Freiermuth is on the right side of that attrition as a blocker. That’s a credit to the work he’s put in.
For him, that work has been able to be put in due to his health finally coming around, allowing him to stay on the field in all situations and get into a groove, which has allowed him to find his confidence as a blocker.
“…I think for me personally, it’s just me being able to stay on the field,” Freiermuth said regarding his health. “Early on [I was] dealing with some little injuries and now I just kind of feel like I’m in a groove, playing how I’m supposed to be playing, executing how I’m supposed to be executing. Just gotta continue.”
Being healthy and on the field is key. Availability is the best ability, and you can’t improve your game from the cold tub. After dealing with a hamstring injury early in the year that kept him off the field, Freiermuth is healthy and playing quite well, most importantly from a blocking perspective.
He’s not alone at the tight end position, either. As that group takes off from a blocking perspective, so too will the offense. The Week 17 win over the Seahawks showed that. Now they need to continue to do it.
