When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, the two biggest talking points are the quarterback position and the wide receiver room. Who will be the starting quarterback, Russell Wilson or Justin Fields? And will the Steelers trade for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk? But once the regular season hits, TE Pat Freiermuth could be one of the Steelers’ most important players.
We know that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loves to target tight ends in his offenses. So could Freiermuth be in line for his best season?
“Injuries were a nagging issue in 2023,” Cody Benjamin wrote in his CBSSports.com article on underrated players who could break out in 2024. “But Freiermuth had 60 catches in each of his first two NFL seasons, growing quickly as a tough-yardage safety valve for multiple quarterbacks. As long as he stays upright, he has the build and the pass-catching acumen to be a breakout target for their new signal-caller room.”
Freiermuth exploded onto the scene as a rookie in 2021. He found the end zone seven times to go along with 497 yards on 60 catches. In 2022, he showed his ability to make plays down the field. He caught only three more passes in his second season than his rookie year, but he averaged 11.6 yards on the way to 732 receiving yards. Unfortunately, Freiermuth missed time with an injury in 2023, limiting him to only 12 games.
Per Pro Football Reference, Freiermuth has six drops on 224 career targets. He didn’t have a single drop in 2023 despite the injury problems. He’s proven to be an extremely reliable pass-catcher in his three seasons in Pittsburgh. But if Freiermuth is going to be a weapon, there is a proven way to get more out of him.
In 2022, the Steelers targeted Freiermuth an average of 8.3 yards past the line of scrimmage. That was almost two yards farther downfield than in 2023 and a full three yards farther than his rookie season. New Steelers OC Arthur Smith targeted his top tight end every year in Atlanta farther downfield. He’s aggressive, and that should benefit Freiermuth considerably.
What is always consistent is that Freiermuth gains yards after the catch. In all three of his NFL seasons, Freiermuth has averaged at least four yards after the catch. In fact, 2022 was his best season for that metric as well. So pushing Freiermuth down the field helps him both before and after the catch.
With Smith’s emphasis on tight-end usage and his belief that Freiermuth shares a similar skill set to Delanie Walker, 2024 sounds very promising for Freiermuth.
