The Pittsburgh Steelers tight end position was filled with mediocrity in the years following Heath Miller’s retirement. The two-time Pro Bowler retired back in 2016, leaving a huge hole as Ben Roethlisberger’s security blanket. Miller spent all 11 seasons with Pittsburgh and Roethlisberger, as he ended his career with 6,569 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns.
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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Pat Freiermuth come out of the tunnel in a regular season game in 2022.
Fast forward to the 2021 NFL Draft, and the Steelers picked a tight end close to Pittsburgh. Pat Freiermuth played two seasons at Penn State, and he built quite the resume. In 29 games, he had 92 catches for 1,185 yards and 16 touchdowns. Coined the nickname ‘Baby Gronk’ after growing up on the east coast, Freiermuth was beginning to build a name for himself.
The Steelers felt confident enough to select him in the second round, 55th overall. Since then, he’s adapted to the NFL pretty quickly. In his rookie campaign, he was able to become Roerhlisberger’s security blanket right away. While the two only got to play a year together, Roethlisberger has been on record about wishing he had played more with the Penn State product.
The two had a locker next to each other, which the Pittsburgh staff likely did by design. Now entering his third season in the NFL, Freiermuth is already considered a consensus top-10 tight end. He recently attended Tight End University, which features a gathering of the game's best TEs every summer. In a recent appearance on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, Freiermuth reflected on one aspect of his game that he wants to improve.
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Steelers superstar safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (#39) stiff arms 49ers stud tight end George Kittle (#85) during an interception return in their matchup in 2019.
“Yeah, [I'm trying to get better at] my release game. I think [Travis] Kelce and [George] Kittle have really good releases, so I'm interested to see what they have up their sleeves," Freiermuth said on Pardon My Take.
Many view his blocking as his biggest weakness and while that holds true, he improved in that aspect in 2022. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the seventh-best (out of 52) TE in 2022. In regards to pass blocking blocking, his 72.3 grade was 13th-best. There is still some work to do there, but he’s getting better. Now with rookie Darnell Washington in the fold, he should be able to learn a thing or two more from the youngster.
Will Steelers TE take that next step forward in 2023?
It’s nice to hear that he’s learning from the top two TEs in the league in George Kittle and Travis Kelce. Those two possess all-around games that set them apart from everyone else. Kelce’s release off the line of scrimmage has helped him become a slam dunk Hall of Famer, and he still has plenty left in the tank with the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Pittsburgh Steelers tight end, Pat Freiermuth celebrates a first down against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 at then-Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Steelers will get to see Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers in live action to begin the 2023 season in Week 1. Recently, Kittle challenged Steelers star TJ Watt, saying that he wouldn’t let the edge rusher get past him in their upcoming matchup in a few months. We'll see how that goes, but Kittle has the blocking prowess to compete against the best. That, coupled with his release are two aspects that could take Freiermuth's game to the next level. He'll look to take another jump in his career to help an already young offense take the next step.
What is your prediction for Freiermuth's stat line in 2023? Do you think he's already a top five tight end in the NFL? Do the Pittsburgh Steelers now have the best tight end room in the league? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
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