The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Arthur Smith to be their new offensive coordinator, and Smith’s known for using tight ends often in his offense. In the first training camp practice, TE Pat Freiermuth was an oft-targeted player throughout practice. After practice, he told reporters that it was “refreshing” to see the number of targets he received.
“It was very refreshing, first day, coming in, seeing the targets increase, it was great,” Freiermuth said via Steelers.com. “When he first got hired, I watched Tennessee, then over the summer I watched Tennessee, Atlanta and obviously we had our own film from OTA, so it was great. It’s a great offense to be in.”
It’s an offense any tight end would want to play in, and the Steelers used plenty of 12 and 13 personnel in practice today. With how the Steelers’ offense is constructed, it’s even better for Freiermuth, who could wind up getting the second-most targets on the team behind WR George Pickens. After a down season where he had just 32 receptions for 308 yards and two touchdowns, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Freiermuth have a bounce-back season and take on a much bigger role in Pittsburgh’s offense.
Freiermuth could also sign an extension before the season begins, so it could wind up being a very good training camp for him. There’s a lot of promise about what he could be for the team this season, and as the starting tight end in an Arthur Smith offense, he’s bound for a bigger role regardless. Add the fact that he’s a talented tight end who had at least 60 receptions each of his first two seasons in the league, and it’s easy to see why the prevailing thought is he could function as the team’s No. 2 pass-catcher.
We’ll see if Freiermuth’s target volume stays at a similar number when Russell Wilson returns to practice after he missed today with a calf injury. But it was certainly a good opening day of practice for Freiermuth, and that’s the start he needed to bounce back after what was a rough 2023 season from an injury and production standpoint.
