Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth is looking for a bounce-back year this season. Last year, Freiermuth struggled with injuries and a lack of production, except for a Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals in which he caught nine passes for 120 yards.
One reason Freiermuth had a big game against the Bengals last season was how he was utilized in the middle of the field. For most of last season, Pittsburgh avoided the middle of the field like the plague, but in their Week 12 matchup against Cincinnati, the Steelers attacked it, and Freiermuth reaped the benefits.
Former Steelers quarterback turned analyst Charlie Batch believes the Steelers will use the middle of the field this year, and Freiermuth will benefit a lot from it.
“[I] absolutely believe he’s gonna be more [of an option this year],” said Batch on the Steelers Youtube channel. “I don’t know if he’s gonna be number two option, only because we haven’t seen Arthur Smith’s offense right now. But I think based off everything that I’m hearing, talking to Freiermuth, he is excited because they’re gonna utilize the middle of the field. Something that they got away from over the past few years.”
Under offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the Steelers often targeted the sidelines, keeping the ball away from the middle of the field. This infuriated the fans as often the middle of the field would be open, but there would rarely be receivers running to the middle, and even if there were, Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks wouldn’t look their way.
With Smith now running the offense, it seems like the middle will be utilized more, and that should spell success for the Steelers. The San Francisco 49ers have had one of the best offenses in football since head coach Kyle Shanahan took over, and one of his hallmarks is attacking the middle of the field. Many teams have adopted his approach with great success as most of the high powered offenses attack the middle of the field as it is simply more open and it allows wide receivers to have the ball in their hands in space.
However, one roadblock to this potential increased usage of the middle of the field under Smith is Pittsburgh’s expected starting quarterback, Russell Wilson. Wilson is somewhat notorious for avoiding the middle, with the Athletic’s Nate Tice even commenting that Wilson is a “shaky fit” for Smith’s offense. According to Tice, Wilson threw the ball over the middle of the field 5.8 percent of the time last year, which was last in the NFL.
Wilson might not have a choice, though. If Smith designs his offense a certain way, Wilson will have to go through his progressions in a particular order, and if Freiermuth is open in the middle of the field, Wilson will have to throw it. As we saw last year and throughout Freiermuth’s career, Freiermuth is a very reliable target, especially over the middle.
Freiermuth and Wilson should have good chemistry this year. With how Smith usually designs his offense, Freiermuth will likely obliterate his 2023 stat line of 32 receptions for 308 yards and two touchdowns. If he does that, the Steelers will probably have a good season.
