Pittsburgh Steelers tight end, Pat Freiermuth may be one of the more intriguing players in the NFL going into the 2022 season. The NFL tight end position is constantly evolving, and every team is searching for the next big-time weapon who can dominate the middle of the field. Tight ends draw linebackers and safeties typically in coverage and a great tight end is almost uncoverable. They are too fast in and out of routes for most linebackers and too big for safeties to stop from catching the ball.
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Travis Kelce has ruled the roost as the AFC’s best tight end for at least the last five seasons with all due respect to Baltimore Ravens tight end, Mark Andrews. He is a gifted route runner and has incredible hands. Since Pat Mahomes rolled into town, he has been one of the premier weapons in football. Kelce was dominant before Mahomes entered the league, but has been the key cog in frustrating defenses over the last several seasons. Freiermuth has only started 9 games in his young career, but his redzone ability and catch radius remind me of Kelce.
The rookie years of both players are surprisingly similar. Kelce spent his first 11 starts with Alex Smith and caught 67 balls for 862 yards and 5 touchdowns. Freiermuth spent his first 9 starts with Ben Roethlisberger at the end of his career and caught 60 passes for 497 yards and 7 touchdowns. Kelce did average 12.9 yards per catch versus 8.3 for Freiermuth. The yards per catch statistic probably has more to do with Andy Reid calling plays versus Matt Canada or more accurately Roethlisberger’s audibles.
The Kansas City Chiefs pass catcher became a Pro Bowler in his second season as a starter in all 16 games. He improved to 72 catches, just 5 more than he had in 11 starts the previous season and his yards per catch dipped to 12.2 YPC. His touchdowns were static at 5 in his second season with Smith. Freiermuth will be a target for a new Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback this season, and whether it is Mitch Trubisky or Kenny Pickett, it seems likely that in 17 starts, his total catches should rise significantly. His yards per catch should also improve as he seems focused on this area of improvement.
"I think my yards per average was atrocious. In my opinion, 8.2 yards, that is pretty bad on my end," Freiermuth said at OTA's on Wednesday.
He has already established himself as a huge redzone target and based on the addition of George Pickens and continued improvement by Chase Claypool, could find himself with even more targets near the endzone.
Let’s look at the tale of the tape so to speak between these two tight end weapons:
Kelce’s stats are impressive, but when you factor in that he had 7 more starts than Freiermuth, it is not a big leap to think that 7 extra games could produce at least 20 more catches, 250 more yards and 4 more touchdowns. I am not saying Freiermuth will replace Kelce this season as the top AFC tight end, but he could easily find himself in the Pro Bowl as one of the top 3 tight ends in the AFC.
The body types are very similar and Freiermuth was actually nearly 6 tenths of a second faster than Kelce coming out of college. Kelce’s big body and speed in and out of routes might be his greatest asset. A lot of the production will come down to how the Steelers tight ends are used by Matt Canada. If he becomes the primary target as defenses are drawn to Diontae Johnson, Claypool, Pickens, and Calvin Austin, he could take his place as the next great NFL tight end.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is Pat Freiermuth the breakout star for the Steelers in 2022? Please comment below or follow me on Twitter @thebubbasq.
