Eric Ebron Completely Trashes Steelers For Drafting Pat Freiermuth Over Creed Humphrey: "As If We Needed A Tight End"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in an odd spot as an organization currently. They are trying to get back on track as the focus is to win now, while also preparing for the future. For a while, it seemed like the franchise was solely focused on staying competitive, which was frustrating to many within the fan base, as no team that has worn the Black and Gold in this last decade has had any playoff success. The superior talent just has not been there. That was the case back when Ben Roethlisberger was still lining up under center for the Steelers, but some believe that Pittsburgh had more to do in terms of setting him up for success entering his final season in 2021.

Roethlisberger decided to return for the 2021 season, and he eventually announced that he would be retiring once the season was over with. He was a shell of himself at this point. He could not extend plays like he used to, and the arm strength was clearly an issue. Former players such as Eric Ebron have been critical about him returning in 2021, and it seems to be for good reason as the offense was obviously limited with him under center.

Ebron recently went on an episode of Not Just Football and spoke with Cam Heyward, and he was critical about some of the moves that the organization made going into that 2021 season.

"This is what blew me," Ebron said. "Instead of getting [Creed] Humphrey, we get [Pat] Freiermuth. As if we needed a tight end. We needed to protect this old mother f**ker. And I don't have a problem with him being the quarterback, but then make the right decisions to protect his a**. You feel what I'm saying? We don't need more weapons, he could barely get it to the ones we had. We needed to protect him. I felt like if we could have protected him, he's still Ben Roethlisberger, then we get that extra second or two, create a little space, get open."

The former tight end is referring to the Steelers drafting Pat Freiermuth in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, while an elite center like Creed Humphrey was still on the board. Center was a position of need for the Steelers at the time, and it was a major weakness for the team during that 2021 season.

Ebron was the tight end who was supplanted by Freiermuth, so he probably feels some type of way about that. However, he does make a good point. The offensive line was not good for Pittsburgh entering the 2021 offseason, and things could have been done to improve the unit. The Steelers instead chose to draft a running back and a tight end with their first two picks of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Pittsburgh's general manager was Kevin Colbert at the time of these moves, and he has been heavily criticized for the way that he drafted over his final two seasons in the role. Najee Harris was seemingly the wrong pick in the first round, while Freiermuth has proven to be the right pick. Either way, it would have been nice to see the Steelers find some offensive line help for Roethlisberger entering his final season.

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Has Also Been Critical Over 2021 Moves

Roethlisberger has spoken about his final season a few different times on his podcast, and he has always made the joke about Kendrick Green being his starting center for his final season. He found it funny because the Steelers were trying to turn Green into a fullback before the 2023 season, but the team ultimately traded him. 

He has made jokes about having a fullback snap him the football, and it is clear he probably wanted some better center play.

What do you think about these comments from Ebron? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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