Former Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger knows he had some pretty stellar tight end play during his tenure in black and gold. The 2004 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was joined in Pittsburgh by tight end Heath Miller after the team drafted him in the first round in 2005, and the two formed an incredible partnership that lasted until Miller retired after the 2015 season. The team's top man at the position, Pat Freiermuth, remains out with a hamstring ailment, but even before the injury, many were wondering why the big man didn't seem like he was part of the game plan.
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Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth lines up against the New Orleans Saints in the 2022 regular season.
Roethlisberger and his podcast co-host Spencer Te'o recorded their latest episode of the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger following the Steelers' 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams, which happened to be on National Tight End Day. The two-time Super Bowl champion said he would like to see Pittsburgh make more use of a talented position group that, as well as Freiermuth, includes Connor Heyward and rookie Darnell Washington.
"When you get a good tight end, you’ve got to take advantage of it and that would be the one area I’d say that I wish the Steelers were still looking into," Roethlisberger said. "I’m not going to point the finger at anybody because I’m not in that building listening to those guys."
He added that from his perch as an armchair quarterback, who has played with one of the guys on the team, he would like to see the team use their talent a bit more. So far this season, Freiermuth was leading the group with eight receptions for 53 yards and two scores. Heyward follows him with seven catches for 65 yards. Washington has primarily been used as a blocker and only has a single grab that went for 10 yards.
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Steelers rookie Darnell Washington (#80) makes a block against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With Freiermuth out on Sunday afternoon against the Rams, Heyward logged the most snaps on offense he has had in 2023 so far, and Washington racked up the second-highest usage by percentage in his young career. Despite both tight ends being on the field a fair amount, only three throws by quarterback Kenny Pickett went toward a tight end. Heyward caught two of three for 23 yards.
Roethlisberger was seemingly perplexed by the team's lack of usage of their talented pass-catchers, especially his old buddy Freiermuth who he played with for a season in 2021.
"Pat is still so underused for how good he is. I can't say if it's a scheme thing or he [Pickett] is just not looking for him."
Freiermuth finished second to Diontae Johnson in targets in 2022, but hadn't looked like a huge part of the offensive game plan in 2023 so far before the injury. As Roethlisberger said, it's tough to really pinpoint a reason, but whatever it is, the coaching staff and Pickett need to find out how to better utilize the players they have at the position.
Steelers' Roethlisberger: "The Tight End Is A Quarterback's Best Friend"
For 11 years, Roethlisberger's "best friend" on the field was Miller. The Steelers tried to find him some new "best friends" with Ladarius Green and Vance McDonald, but after injuries ended both of their tenures, settled on Freiermuth in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Heath Miller celebrate on the field together.
Roethlisberger said that during his career, he loved to throw to guys at the position, partially because of having talented guys like Miller and Freiermuth, but also because he felt they knew exactly where to be.
"The tight end is a quarterback's best friend. For me, it was always the comfort in knowing the tight end was going to be in the right spot. He was going to be where he was supposed to be. He wasn’t going to ad-lib. He wasn’t going to make up his own thing."
For so many years, it was that ability that made Miller a security blanket type option for Roethlisberger. The legendary quarterback has made the comparison between his connection with Miller and Pickett's connection with Freiermuth before. Hopefully, Freiermuth is back from injury soon enough and the two can continue to build on it.
Do you think Pittsburgh needs to use the tight ends more? How would you get them more involved in the game plan? Comment below!
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