Adding wide receiver DK Metcalf is the main attraction of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason and will be the team’s top passing game target. But Aaron Rodgers is just as excited about the tight ends who populate the team’s depth chart, offering a wide variety of traits and skill sets that complement each other well. Rodgers dove into the group during a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
“He’s a super talented guy,” Rodgers said of starter Pat Freiermuth. “He can do a lot of different things. He can block at the point of attack. He can split out, run routes; he can run choice routes, he can run seam routes.”
Pittsburgh gave Rodgers plenty of space to decide on his NFL future before signing in June in what’ll be his last NFL season, but Freiermuth was a notable player “recruiting” Rodgers throughout the offseason. The two exchanged messages on Instagram, a fact Freiermuth brought up months ago and Rodgers confirmed during the interview.
Staying healthy last season after an injury-marred 2023 campaign, Freiermuth put up solid albeit unspectacular numbers as the Steelers’ top TE. He finished the year with 65 receptions for 653 yards and seven touchdowns, setting career-bests in catches and tying his high-water mark in scores. A trusted player with strong hands, Rodgers could rely on Freiermuth plenty when the offense needs to move the sticks.
Rodgers reiterated comments he made earlier this month about big tight end Darnell Washington while adding Washington can do more than just block.
“6-8 and he is pushing the three bills,” he said of Washington. “You would think, he’s that big, he can’t run. No man. The last play of the entire minicamp he caught a seam down the middle. Against Cover Two. I don’t know if it was [Will Howard or Skylar Thompson] who threw it. It was a great seed down the pipe. And Darnell, hands catch into the end zone.”
In his second season, Washington flashed as receiver with a handful of 20-plus yard receptions. But his involvement shriveled up with the rest of the offense, catching just two passes after Week 13. Making a big jump as a blocker in 2024, the next step will be to add more as a receiver and play in an offense willing to give him more opportunities.
“And then Connor Heyward, Cam’s little brother,” Rodgers said. “Connor is super-talented guy. He’s like a Swiss Army knife. He can do it all. He can block, he can move, he can slide across the formation. He can catch the ball, move, he can run choice routes. So I really liked that room.”
Heyward’s production sharply dropped last season, catching only six passes after hauling in 23 the year before. Partially due to the good health of Freiermuth and Washington ahead of him but Arthur Smith struggled to find Heyward a consistent role, mostly using him as a blocker on split-flow run schemes. A quality special teamer, he may still have an inside track to make the 53-man roster but will have to cement his role this summer.
It’s unclear who will be attending next week’s Malibu workout hosted by Rodgers but it wouldn’t be surprising if any or all three of the team’s top tight ends attend. Especially knowing none of them are participating in “TE University.”
Unless Pittsburgh adds another significant offensive playmaker, the focus of the offense may be on spreading the love than force-feeding one player. Metcalf is the big draw but hasn’t been an uber-volume receiver and has caught fewer than 70 passes in each of his last two years. Given the talent and Arthur Smith’s philosophy, targets figure to be distributed. That means plenty of involvement for the Steelers’ tight ends, a group Rodgers is already quickly connecting with.
