The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 1 PM ET on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers will be missing their top three cornerbacks and Minkah Fitzpatrick against Tom Brady in what is likely to be his final time facing the black and gold. The Steelers are double digit underdogs at home and the prognosis that they can win a shootout is grim. The Steelers will also be missing one of Kenny Pickett’s most effective targets in tight end Pat Freiermuth.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh selected converted quarterback Zach Gentry out of Michigan in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Gentry played two seasons in the big house at tight end for the Michigan Wolverines and played sparingly for the Steelers in 2019 and 2020. Last season, he appeared in all 17 games for the Steelers, but was targeted only 25 times, catching 19. In five games this season, he has been targeted 9 times and has caught 8 passes. Against the Buffalo Bills, he caught a career high 5 passes and is likely to see the majority of tight end targets against Tampa Bay.
Gentry is a huge target at 6 feet 8 inches tall and has a chance to carve a role for himself with a rookie quarterback who is looking to find the end zone for the first time in his career through the air. Gentry is a good blocker who presents significant issues for a defense if used properly. Matt Canada is probably not going to be the mastermind behind that transition, but Pickett might be able to exploit the giant target. He is not fleet of foot, but he has been reliable when targeted in his career catching 80% of balls thrown in his direction.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
The exact opposite end of the spectrum will be the Steelers number two tight end on Sunday. Connor Heyward also changed positions in college. He was a solid fullback for the Michigan State Spartans, but converted to tight end for his senior year and he caught 35 passes for the Spartans. Heyward is unlike any other NFL tight end this century; he is only 6 feet tall. He is the shortest tight end in the Super Bowl era for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Heyward displayed a solid bond with Pickett during training camp and the preseason and will have his first significant opportunity to make an impact offensively. Heyward does have exceptional hands, but his height makes him an unusual target against linebackers and safeties. Modern tight ends have become like power forwards in basketball, boxing out smaller safeties and linebackers to make catches in traffic. Heyward is not tall enough to play like that.
“I feel ready. I think it would be a little different if it was Game 1, but I think I have so many weeks of practice experience,” said Heyward, who acknowledged he’s been afforded more reps with the first-team offense in practice this week. “If they didn’t think I was ready, I wouldn’t be getting these opportunities.”
Heyward will not have a natural height advantage or the advantage of a gifted play-caller like Kyle Shanahan who could probably maximize a player like Heyward’s talents on Sunday. He has the potential to be an X factor player for the Steelers offense, but he is not a traditional tight end, and the Steelers should not treat him like one against the Buccaneers. Heyward, despite his small size, is a physical player and he could bring a much-needed edge to the run game on Sunday.
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Gentry, who was nicknamed “Big Blue” by Mike Tomlin, reportedly looked good when he returned to full practice on Thursday for the Steelers. Heyward, who has been called “meatball” and “shrimp cocktail” by his teammates, will try to pick up where he left off against the Buffalo Bills in the second half where he pulled in both of his targets. The pair of Pittsburgh tight ends will be a modern day 'Mutt and Jeff' at Acrisure stadium and will hopefully enjoy the success of the long running comic strip characters when they face the Tampa Bay defense on Sunday.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Will the mismatched pair of tight ends give the Buccaneers fits? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
