The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Pat Freiermuth in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. In his final season, Kevin Colbert expended significant draft capital to bring in Najee Harris and Freiermuth as weapons for Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers managed to go 9-7-1 in 2021, but despite solid rookie seasons, neither garnered a vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) and tight end Pat Freiermuth (88).
Freiermuth started nine games during his rookie season and was third in receptions behind Diontae Johnson and Harris on the 2021 team. Freiermuth added seven receiving touchdowns, and despite the retirement of his future Hall of Fame quarterback, his future seemed very bright. He was touted as one of the up-and-coming young tight ends in the NFL and a key security blanket for Steelers quarterbacks for the foreseeable future.
Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger continued the simulcast format it adopted on YouTube Channel Seven in 2023 on Sunday when the Steelers faced the Baltimore Ravens with the playoffs on the line. The former Steelers signal-caller has gone viral with some of his past takes on Kenny Pickett, Lamar Jackson, and the organization in general. Roethlisberger has his moments in the current format, and when it came to his former tight end, he expressed his unfiltered frustration about his usage in the 2023 offense.
“I saw something when Pat caught that one,” Roethlisberger observed. “I think he’s got 290-something yards this year, and he had a 100-yard game. That’s all? Your stud tight end has less than 300 yards receiving?"
After posting 497 yards on 60 receptions during his rookie season with Roethlisberger, Freiermuth increased his output to 63 receptions in 2022 and accounted for 732 yards. The Steelers tight end has struggled with injuries during his career, but he has started the same amount of games as he did as a rookie and only one less game than last season.
“I know he didn’t play some, but come on,” Roethlisberger continued. “He should be having 50-75 yards per game.”
The 2023 season saw Freiermuth disappear from the offense. He only caught 32 balls for 308 yards and was targeted 47 times by Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph. The multiple pass tracking charts that made their way around social media this season clearly demonstrated that Pittsburgh quarterbacks had abandoned the middle of the field. The first game the Steelers played without Matt Canada accounted for nearly 25 percent of his targets and catches for the season and almost 40 percent of his yards receiving in 2023.
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Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) celebrates a first down against the Raiders in 2021.
Roethlisberger's affection for Freiermuth runs deep. He was a guest on his first live show along with Andrew McCutcheon and Bob Pompeani. He has expressed that Freiermuth's ability rivaled his long-term safety blanket, Heath Miller. Spencer Te'o, the co-host of the podcast, observed that Pittsburgh was not just ignoring Freiermuth, but the tight end position in general.
"That's something we've talked about all year," Te'o added. "We've gone through offensive coordinators, quarterbacks, scheme adjustments, what else? I'm not saying you throw that junk to Pat every down, but you got three tight ends. Connor Heyward is an absolute beast. My man [Darnell] Washington is like a thousand feet tall; why aren't we just closing our eyes and throwing it in the air? He's the tallest dude out there. Pat is one of the more dynamic tight ends in the league."
Former Steelers RB Merril Hoge Destroys Pat Freiermuth For Lame Route Running
Te'o is a football fan, but he makes a salient point. It is hard to criticize Freiermuth for falling off when the Steelers refuse to implement any of their current tight ends as anything more than an additional blocker. Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington are the modern-day Mutt and Jeff of NFL tight ends, but neither is used creatively in the passing game. The position was supposed to be a strength of the Pittsburgh offense, and all three have largely been ignored no matter who is under center.
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Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) could be a huge X-factor in Buffalo.
The Steelers' AFC Wild Card opponent, the Buffalo Bills, are the third-best team in the NFL at limiting tight end production. On paper, it does not appear like an ideal matchup for Pittsburgh to rediscover the position, but the forecast is calling for sustained winds of 25 miles per hour. Rudolph may have no choice but to look to his tight ends on Sunday at 1 pm ET. If the Steelers include the tight ends in the game plan, they will, at the very least, have the element of surprise.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Should the Steelers try to surprise the Bills and utilize Freiermuth as a weapon instead of a decoy? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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