Who is the Pittsburgh Steelers No. 2 wide receiver? Van Jefferson? Calvin Austin III? Someone off the street, potentially literally, if you run a fast 40 and can make it to the practice facility by Monday. Ultimately, it might be Pat Freiermuth. While that seems obvious and intuitive from a broad point of view, Freiermuth is expected to be the second-most targeted player on the team. It might be more literal than you think.
Using our weekly charting of the Steelers’ offense since Pat Freiermuth was drafted in 2021, his wide receiver usage, playing on his feet instead of a three-point stance, has steadily grown. In the preseason with Arthur Smith, his usage is at an all-time high.
Below is a table charting Freiermuth’s stand-up rate in 2021, 2022, 2023, and the 2024 preseason.
| Year | Freiermuth Stand-Up Rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 Preseason | 13/31 – 41.9% |
| 2023 Regular Season | 149/476 – 31.3% |
| 2022 Regular Season | 187/707 – 26.4% |
| 2021 Regular Season | 158/655 – 24.1% |
As the table shows, there has been a clear increase year over year. Under Smith this summer, Pat Freiermuth stood up over 40 percent of the time. Granted, the sample size is small, but there’s reason to believe this trend will continue.
Smith loves using multiple tight ends instead of the Steelers’ base 11 personnel under Matt Canada and Randy Fichtner. That means more flexibility with the tight ends, getting them matched up all over the field. And with someone like Darnell Washington more frequently on the field, he can serve as the in-line Y, allowing Freiermuth to align somewhere else. When you’re an 11 personnel-heavy team, the tight end is more likely to be attached.
On the line, Freiermuth’s blocking certainly isn’t anything special. But out in space, he does a solid job of sticking and driving his feet. Splitting him wide minimizes his in-line weakness and highlights his open-field strengths.
Standing Pat Freiermuth up doesn’t mean he always has to be the widest receiver. He’ll often stand up in the slot. And he might not be the only tight end. In training camp, Pittsburgh ran plenty of 13 personnel with two tight ends aligned in the slot. Smith likes to get creative with his big personnel, spreading the field horizontally and keeping linebackers, still in their base 3-4/4-3, to cover. Advantage offense.
Here’s an example from the Bills’ preseason game. Rodney Williams and MyCole Pruitt split out to the top and bottom, with Darnell Washington the Y-Off.
For a play involving Pat Freiermuth, 13 personnel out of empty. Freiermuth split slot right to the top.
These types of formations will be common under Smith. And will benefit Freiermuth. This shouldn’t be painted as brand new or radical. As the numbers suggest, Freiermuth also stood up under Canada, who liked to align him backside in 3×1 to create a one-on-one matchup. Under Smith, there will be more-of. More of Freiermuth on his feet as Smith is stronger to put players in position to succeed and will lean on his tight ends more, allowing for more creativity.
