Will the Steelers’ all-tight-end offense finally take flight against the Patriots?
This offseason the Steelers attempted a tight-ends-all-the-way-down approach on offense, but we haven’t seen it come to fruition yet. We have a touchdown from Jonnu Smith, and a handful of grabs from the group here and there. Darnell Washington converted a two-point attempt but otherwise hasn’t drawn a target.
So when will we see this tight end approach the Steelers raved about all offseason? Even Aaron Rodgers showered praise on every single tight end on the roster individually, and they are playing. They’re just not being used very much in the passing game at the moment. At least not very efficiently.
Jonnu Smith is tied for the second-most targets on the team behind DK Metcalf with 10, but they’re all very short passes. He has nine catches for 42 yards, to give you an idea. The other tight ends have a combined seven catches for 65 yards.
Across two games, the Steelers’ entire tight end room has 16 catches, but for just 107 yards. Of course, some natural variance is going to occur from game to game, but this is a team that throws the ball with three tight ends on the field.
The Steelers have some obvious deficiencies, but the tight ends aren’t going to magically fix that. After all, they have to start blocking better, for one thing, which is probably the biggest issue. That affects not only the passing game, but certainly the run game, too.
But the thing is, the Steelers designed their offense to feature the tight ends heavily, including in the passing game. When you get down to it, both Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth are primarily receiving tight ends. That aren’t earning eight-figure salaries for their blocking, that’s for sure. And Pittsburgh has already been underutilizing Freiermuth for years.
After another disappointing season and months of retooling, the Steelers are set to try it all again in 2025. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. They settled in on Aaron Rodgers, but we still have a lot to learn about him. The 2025 NFL Draft class could play a big role, but veteran additions like Jalen Ramsey will be paramount.
Now we are in the regular season. From Rodgers to George Pickens to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ramsey, we’ve seen the Steelers make some big changes. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and figuring out how it all works out.
