It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of question marks in their receiving room heading into the 2024 season. Can George Pickens become a reliable, every-week WR1? Will Calvin Austin III finally have his breakout season? What can the Steelers reasonably expect from rookie Roman Wilson in his first season? The biggest question might be who the team’s second option at receiver is, and Brian Batko believes it’s tight end Pat Freiermuth.
In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s weekly podcast, Chipped Ham and Football, Steelers beat writer Brian Batko said that Freiermuth will be the “de facto number two receiver” for the Steelers.
“As good as he’s been to this point in his career…it’s kind of easy to forget he’s never had 800 yards in a season,” Batko said. “He did have those seven touchdown catches as a rookie, but only four over the last two years combined. I think this is a season where Freiermuth becomes an even more integral part of the offense and combines that touchdown-making with more receptions and more yardage than he’s had to this point in his career. [He] basically will be the de facto number two receiver for this team, and if it’s an extension that comes his way before the season starts, I think he’ll have the type of year that makes the Steelers look smart for doing it.”
Since his seven-touchdown season as a rookie, Freiermuth has struggled to ascend into the top- 10 pass-catching tight end territory that many NFL fans and analysts predicted for him. Injuries have limited his ability to maintain a consistent role in the offense over the past few seasons, but his lack of a true breakout season can probably be blamed on poor quarterback play and an incompetent offensive coordinator in Matt Canada more than anything else. Freiermuth was rarely targeted in the red zone, and not coincidentally, the Steelers have been one of the worst red zone offenses in the league over the past two seasons.
With a new offensive coordinator, improved quarterback play, and Diontae Johnson gone, all signs point toward a Pat Freiermuth breakout season. He should fill in as the Steelers’ No.2 wide receiver. Arthur Smith uses tight ends as much or more than any offensive coordinator in the league, with 34% of targets going to tight ends in the 2023 season when he coached the Atlanta Falcons. Smith was criticized for his failure to maximize former top-five draft pick, tight end Kyle Pitts, but it wasn’t due to a lack of targets. The Falcons dealt with the same woes as the Steelers the past few years: abysmal quarterback play. Smith will get Freiermuth involved in games early and often, and with Russell Wilson presumably starting under center, the Steelers will have a veteran quarterback looking to build chemistry with dependable receiving options. Freiermuth should cement his role as one of the first looks in Wilson’s progressions, particularly in play-action scenarios over the middle.
Freiermuth is a candidate for a contract extension before the season, and in order to prove his value to the team, he’ll need to have the breakout season that Batko is predicting. If he can stay healthy, then Freiermuth should set career highs in receptions and receiving yards, eclipsing 70 receptions and 800 yards. The Steelers offense should also be moving the ball more consistently, giving the team more red zone opportunities than they’ve had the past couple of seasons. A 6-5, 260-pound receiver should be a quarterback’s best friend in the red zone, so I would expect Smith to find ways to get him involved in the end zone.
Freiermuth should finish as the Steelers second-leading receiver, earning his place as a top-10 receiving tight end in the NFL.
