When are the Steelers going to get Pat Freiermuth more involved in the offense?
The Steelers are now (roughly) halfway through the season, and TE Pat Freiermuth has 26 catches for 264 yards. While he is on pace to better his numbers from last season, this was supposed to be a career year. After all, they just paid him a bunch of money, believing that he would take his game to another level.
We haven’t seen that next level, but that doesn’t mean it’s his fault. Still, there is a concerning trend of the Steelers not targeting Freiermuth. Over the past four weeks, he only has 11 targets, including five from Russell Wilson the past two weeks. On the season, he only has two games with five-plus targets.
Among tight ends, Pat Freiermuth ranks 16th in the league in receiving yards. Meanwhile, the Ravens have two tight ends producing at the same level as him. While he doesn’t need to put up Travis Kelce numbers to justify his contract, the Steelers could certainly get more out of him.
After all, Arthur Smith runs a tight end-centric offense, and we have seen that, though not necessarily in the passing game. The Steelers do have the second-fewest passing attempts in the NFL, so that is a part of the discussion. And Freiermuth does rank second on the team in receptions and receiving yards, while being tied for first in touchdowns.
Do the Steelers just have too much of a low-volume passing offense to support robust tight end numbers? Two years ago, Pat Freiermuth caught 63 passes for 732 yards, and we all thought he was on his way. And that was with Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett throwing to him.
Now he has Russell Wilson, who put up numbers with Jimmy Graham. Is it just a matter of Wilson and Freiermuth hooking up over the bye week and getting on the same page? Will we see more of a focus on the tight ends in the passing game in the second half of the season? Even Darnell Washington is getting his occasional targets.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
