With Pat Freiermuth in 2024, the Pittsburgh Steelers might finally have a tight end who is a top target. That is as much about the rest of the Steelers’ roster as it is about Freiermuth, but facts are facts. With the lack of wide receiver depth, he is clearly positioned for an uptick in targets. And especially in a contract year, he is set up for a transformative season.
“He’s got to be salivating”, former Steelers front office executive Doug Whaley said recently about Freiermuth on 93.7 The Fan. The team’s only established wide receiver is George Pickens after trading Diontae Johnson. On top of that, he has a new quarterback and offensive coordinator who might better suit him.
“That’s why I say right now [Pat Freiermuth] is the second receiving option”, Whaley said. “Hopefully he gets paid before then because if he doesn’t and he goes isn’t the season and has a monster season… So he’s sitting back like, ‘Hey, either way’”.
The Steelers signed Russell Wilson to play quarterback this season, later trading Kenny Pickett. They also replaced offensive coordinator Matt Canada with Arthur Smith, Canada subjected to an in-season firing. Both changes potentially benefit him as much as the shallow wide receiver depth.
The Steelers selected Pat Freiermuth in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. After catching seven touchdowns as a rookie, he caught 63 passes for 732 yards as a follow-up. But he also only caught two touchdowns that year, and last season, his production plummeted. Largely but not exclusively due to injury, he caught just 32 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns.
Freiermuth is a capable receiving tight end, and there has always seemed to be more meat on the bone. He should benefit from playing with a more veteran quarterback again, as he did in 2021 with Ben Roethlisberger. And Smith has a better history of exploiting his tight ends in the passing game, with more creative schemes.
Then there is the simple reality that the Steelers are going to need targets. In a normal year, Diontae Johnson is a 100-target player with ease. Pittsburgh has sought to replace him with a piecemeal assemblage of journeymen wide receivers and a rookie third-round pick. There is a void in the passing game, and Freiermuth should be hungry to fill it.
As Whaley acknowledged, he has every reason to be. He is in his contract year, and many believe he is in for career numbers. That’s why he believes it would benefit the Steelers to extend Pat Freiermuth now, because he will only increase his price tag in the near future.
Right now, he is likely looking at a per-year average range of about $10-13 million. He could raise or lower that number significantly depending on how this season goes. But for both Freiermuth and the Steelers, they may want to settle for the happy medium the present offers.
