One man's trash is another man's treasure. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded away wide receiver Chase Claypool last week just ahead of the deadline, acquiring a 2023 second-round draft pick from the Chicago Bears. Claypool was a starter in this offense, moving to the slot this season. As a result, there's a hole that will have to be filled.
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Steven Sims seems the most likely to step up and start in the slot, but it will be a group effort in replacing Claypool's production as a whole. Second-year tight end, Pat Freiermuth, has been highlighted as an obvious beneficiary of the Claypool trade. In his Tuesday press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin spoke about Freiermuth's additional opportunity in the middle of the field with the recent trade:
"You know, I don't know that it [the passing game] does [change with Claypool gone]. As I mentioned, it's not just the depth at the position that we were comfortable with in terms of making that move," Tomlin said on Tuesday. "Just the space in the field in which Chase had made a lot plays for us, also is the space of the field where Pat Freiermuth makes a lot of plays for us. It's reasonable to expect him to get continually highlighted in that area as well."
After an impressive rookie year, Freiermuth has taken a step forward in 2022. In seven games, he has 32 catches and one touchdown, while averaging 52.4 receiving yards per game. His 367 yards through the air ranks seventh amongst tight ends in the NFL. With Claypool on the Bears now, Freiermuth has a huge chance to continue to climb those ranks amongst the best tight ends in football.
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He continuously catches basically everything that comes his way as well, as he's caught 66.7% of his 48 targets this year. That number is actually down a bit from his rookie season, likely a bit due to quarterback play. Early this season, the Steelers struggled to get him involved, as quarterback Mitch Trubisky failed to use the middle of the field consistently.
That led to a dip in Freiermuth's numbers at first, but he's since built some chemistry with Kenny Pickett. He now will have an even bigger role in this offense, as he's been a go-to target since the rookie took over at quarterback. The star tight end spoke to reporters on Monday, discussing if/how his role will change:
"To be honest, I don't really care about the extra targets or the numbers or stats or anything like that. I just want to do anything I can to help the team win," Freiermuth said via the Steelers' YouTube page. "If that's me catching the ball more or making more plays in the middle of the field, then I'm gonna do that. We just wanna win."
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Freiermuth continues to establish himself as a building block of the future of this Steelers team. He's become a fan favorite in the process as well, replacing Heath Miller's "HEEAAATHH" chants with "MUUUUTHHH." While some may argue the team could have went for a bigger position of need in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he's lived up to the billing as the 55th overall pick. Out of 68 qualified tight ends, Pro Football Focus has Freiermuth as the 10th-best TE this season with a grade of 74.4.
Do you think the team will target Freiermuth more now with Claypool gone? What are your expectations for the future of Freiermuth? Can he become one of the best tight ends in the NFL? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, as well as on our social media sites!
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