Steelers' Pat Freiermuth Gets Bold Week 1 Prediction That Could Unlock Entire Offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent the offseason assembling enough offensive options that Week 1 should not require one player to drag everyone else across the finish line. The more interesting question is which weapon becomes the piece that connects everything together. Pittsburgh needs its running game to matter, its outside receivers to punish extra attention and Aaron Rodgers to have somewhere dependable to go when Atlanta tries taking away the obvious answers.

Insider Christopher Carter believes Pat Freiermuth could become exactly that player Sunday. During a recent discussion, Carter predicted Freiermuth will score against the Atlanta Falcons and help Pittsburgh establish the run-pass balance he believes is essential for the offense to function properly.

“I’m going to have Pat Freiermuth catching a touchdown. I think it’s going to happen in this game. He’s going to break some things open, and that’s going to allow the balance of a run game and a pass game to work with each other and that be the thing that gets the Steelers to win here. I have them winning 27-16,” Carter said.

Freiermuth is an interesting choice because he does not need 12 targets for Carter's prediction to matter. The veteran tight end caught 41 passes for 486 yards and four touchdowns last season, numbers that represented a decline from his 65 receptions, 653 yards and seven scores in 2024. He still showed that he can change a game when Pittsburgh gets him involved, including a two-touchdown, 111-yard performance against Cincinnati last October.

A touchdown against Atlanta could be valuable for reasons beyond six points. The Falcons know DK Metcalf is the most obvious explosive threat outside, while Michael Pittman Jr. gives Pittsburgh another veteran receiver capable of demanding attention. If Atlanta devotes resources toward controlling those two, the middle of the field should become increasingly interesting for Freiermuth.

That is where Mike McCarthy can make the tight end more than a safety valve. Freiermuth can align attached to the formation, work from the slot or release into space out of heavier personnel. Pittsburgh can show a formation that threatens the run, then ask Freiermuth to attack a linebacker or safety once the defense responds accordingly.

The Steelers have been hinting at that possibility for months. Freiermuth recently teased that Pittsburgh's hidden offense contains more than the team showed publicly during the preseason, and the personnel around him gives McCarthy plenty of ways to disguise what is coming. Three veteran tight ends, two established running backs and movable receivers can make the same formation produce very different answers.

Freiermuth also has an existing connection with Rodgers. During training camp, Rodgers found him for a 23-yard touchdown to finish a first-team two-minute drill, one example of their timing beginning to carry over after playing together last season. Rodgers also connected with Freiermuth for multiple regular-season touchdowns in 2025.

That familiarity becomes useful when Pittsburgh wants to stay balanced without becoming predictable. A productive ground game from Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle can force Atlanta's second level to respect downhill action. Freiermuth operating behind or around those linebackers gives Rodgers a natural counter when defenders become too eager to fit the run.

The reverse works just as well. If Freiermuth starts creating completions in the middle and Pittsburgh forces Atlanta to account for him with more attention, the defense has another problem to solve before deciding how aggressively it can attack the backfield.

That is the balance Carter is discussing. It is not simply reaching an arbitrary number of rushing attempts and passes. Pittsburgh wants every successful element of the offense to make the next one more difficult to defend.

Atlanta will have capable players waiting. Its Week 1 depth chart includes veteran linebacker Divine Deablo along with safeties Jessie Bates III and Xavier Watts, so Freiermuth will not simply be wandering through uncovered grass. The Falcons have multiple defenders who can factor into the middle of the field, making McCarthy's formations and sequencing important if Pittsburgh wants to manufacture the matchups Carter envisions.

Steelers Could Let Freiermuth Connect The Entire Plan

Freiermuth does not have to become Pittsburgh's leading receiver Sunday for Carter to be right. One touchdown, a handful of chain-moving catches and enough attention to alter how Atlanta defends the formation could make his afternoon disproportionately important.

The Steelers open their season at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m., giving McCarthy his first opportunity to show how all of the offensive pieces he spent the summer arranging actually fit together when the scoreboard matters.

Carter sees Pittsburgh winning 27-16, but the more interesting piece of his prediction is how the Steelers get there. He does not expect one superstar to overwhelm Atlanta. He expects the run and pass to complement each other until the Falcons can no longer comfortably commit to either one.

Freiermuth may be perfectly suited to live in the space that creates. Pittsburgh has plenty of bigger names on offense. Carter believes its tight end could be the player who makes all of them harder to defend.

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