One of the biggest questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare for training camp in a month is who will take the reins as the team’s WR2. George Pickens is firmly established as the team’s WR1, but after him, it’s a jumbled mess with the likes of rookie Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins battling it out.
While the Steelers could still look to add another proven receiver to the offense via the free agency route or trade prior to the start of the season, they likely already have their second-leading receiver on the roster. That would be TE Pat Freiermuth, who more often resembles a pumped up wide receiver than a traditional tight end. Sure, Freiermuth is a tight end by position, but given his lack of effectiveness as an in-line blocker compared to his skill set as a possession-down receiver and red-zone threat, he profiles as a prominent pass catcher in Pittsburgh’s offense.
Given the loss of Diontae Johnson this offseason, Freiermuth is primed to take a big leap forward as he heads into a contract year. The Steelers did draft Michigan WR Roman Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but have failed to add any other notable pass catcher this offseason who would demand targets in the offense. Freiermuth and Pickens are the two most established pass catchers on the roster. Freiermuth finished as high as Pittsburgh’s third-leading receiver in 2022 behind Johnson and Pickens, making the second spot in the pecking order for opportunities well within his grasp.
It also benefits Freiermuth to be playing under new OC Arthur Smith, who has experience utilizing the tight end in the passing game. Smith has traditionally ran more two tight end sets during his time in the league with the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans, meaning that Freiermuth should see a hefty amount of snaps, even if TE Darnell Washington is deployed often as the team’s go-to run blocking tight end. Tight ends have faired well in Smith’s offense when it comes to opportunity share of the targets as the position represented 34% of Atlanta’s target share in 2023 with TEs Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith leading the way, ranking second and third, respectively in receiving yards on the team. Freiermuth may not be the athletic freak Pitts is at the position, but he has proven to be an athletic playmaker in his own right when it comes to combative catches and creating after the catch.
Given Freiermuth’s opportunity in the offense and his ability to be deployed as an in-line tight end and split out into the slot, he should see a fair amount of targets both as a possession down receiver moving the chains and a red-zone threat. Pittsburgh’s quarterback room of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields also represents a notable improvement compared to the play of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Fields helped support TE Cole Kmet to a couple respectable seasons in 2022 and 2023, while Wilson has worked with the likes of Jimmy Graham, Gerald Everett and Greg Dulcich over the years, showing he can distribute to the tight end position.
Kmet already cashed in on a big-money deal, and Freiermuth intends to do the same heading into the final year of his rookie contract. He’s in great position to do so with Johnson vacating 87 targets along with Allen Robinson leaving another 49 up for grabs. Obviously the new receivers added this offseason will eat into that, and the team hopes that Roman Wilson can come along quickly in the offense, but with Freiermuth feeling healthy after missing time last season with a hamstring injury, he’s in perfect position to follow Pickens as the team’s No. 2 target… and earn a nice contract in the process.
