Leading up to the start of the 2023 season, the tight end position looked like a major strength for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially after the selection of Georgia tight end Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
With the likes of Pat Freiermuth, Washington, and Connor Heyward on the roster, the Steelers had quite a bit of depth and pieces that fit together. Entering Year Two of the Kenny Pickett Era and another season under offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the tight end position was expected to have a huge role in the passing game.
Then, the actual games started, and the Steelers’ tight ends disappeared in the passing game. They also struggled mightily in the run game as blockers, too, leading to some pointed criticism from former Steeler Merril Hoge. But to their credit, the tight-end group rallied late in the season, closing 2023 in strong fashion.
Now that the season is behind us, it’s a time for reflection and analysis, and that centers on my Steelers positional grades season review. Today, we’ll look at the tight ends, taking an individual look at the three players who saw consistent snaps at the position for the Steelers. Freiermuth, Washington and Heyward.
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: QBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: RBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: WRs
Pat Freiermuth: Grade — C-
Stats: 12 games (9 starts), 32 receptions on 47 targets for 308 yards (9.6 YPC), 2 TDs
It was a bit of a disappointing season for Pat Freiermuth in Year Three in the NFL. He dealt with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games, and when he was on the field throughout much of the season was largely invisible in the passing game and was a mess as a blocker. With offensive coordinator Matt Canada at the helm, the middle of the field was simply not a place that the Steelers attacked in the passing game, which is where Freiermuth has done quite a bit of damage in his career.
After hauling in 60+ passes in his first two seasons, making NFL history, Freiermuth took a major step backward this season, finishing with just 32 receptions. He found the end zone in two of the first three weeks of the season but never found the end zone again on the year for the Steelers. Outside of his career day in Week 12 against the Bengals, ironically, one game after Canada was fired, Freiermuth had nine receptions for 120 yards.
But that was about it for Freiermuth on the season. He did have five receptions for 76 yards in the playoff loss, but the Steelers never quite figured out a way to get him involved in the passing game consistently. As he struggled to have a role in the passing game throughout much of the season, Freiermuth really had issues as a blocker, leading to Hoge’s pointed comments.
Freiermuth stated he heard them and took them to heart, and his play improved down the stretch in that area of the game, serving as a useable in-line blocking tight end in 12 and 13 personnel, providing some hope for the future. Freiermuth also impressed head coach Mike Tomlin with his leadership late in the season, which should have the tight end in line for a larger leadership role next season, which is a welcome development on one of the youngest offenses in football.
Darnell Washington: Grade — C-
Stats: 17 games (7 starts), seven receptions on 10 targets for 61 yards (7.1 YPC)
Viewed as a potential chess piece for the Steelers’ offense after landing in Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Georgia, Washington didn’t quite live up to expectations for the Steelers in his first season. He served primarily as a blocking tight end and saw just 10 targets in the passing game, with very few of them being past 5-10 yards.
There were concerns about his knee coming out of college, and that seemed to hinder him at times as he looked slow and lacked explosiveness. However, he was never on the injury report this season and never missed a game.
While he had his moments as an impactful blocker in 12 and 13 personnel, he also had his struggles. He was outstanding in pass protection, though, when kept in as an extra lineman, allowing just one pressure in 185 pass-blocking snaps. Pretty remarkable stuff there from the rookie.
Year Two will be key for Washington. He needs to show a bit more as a pass-catching option in a new offense and needs to look a bit more fluid as an athlete overall.
Connor Heyward: Grade — C+
Stats: 17 games (7 starts), 23 receptions on 34 targets for 167 yards (7.3 YPC), two drops
Connor Heyward is a football player through and through. I’ll always state that. It might sound simple, but it says quite a bit about the Steelers’ tight end and fullback.
One year after making some big plays down the field in the passing game for the Steelers, Heyward was limited to on and around the line of scrimmage as a receiver, which was largely how the rest of the tight ends were utilized in the passing game. While he was hindered in his usage from a routes perspective, Heyward handled himself well as a blocking tight end when the Steelers were in 12 and 13 personnel. He saw 280 snaps as an in-line tight end this season, Heyward doubled his snaps from an alignment perspective from his rookie season, which shows how much the Steelers trusted him.
He doesn’t exactly fit the mold of a true in-line tight end, but he really improved there as the season progressed and was a key part of the Steelers’ run blocking late in the season, especially in the win over the Seahawks on the road.
Hopefully, he gets a chance to be an impactful receiving option moving forward in a new offense. That’s where he’s at his best. But it’s hard not to be thrilled with his progression as a blocker in Year Two.
