When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded away wide receiver Diontae Johnson, no one was sure how the Steelers would compensate in the passing game. In the backs of all of our minds, we were hopeful that with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in the fold, we had confidence that tight end Pat Freiermuth could see an expanded role.
Early in training camp, this is exactly what the Steeles are doing as Freiermuth looks like he is finally going to be featured in the passing game. This is something Freiermuth is seeing and he’s loving it.
“Slants, digs, and all that, I’m running it,” Freiermuth said. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s been awesome to add that, that full route tree to my repertoire. And you know, it’s been great. It’s been fun. Everything’s been great.”
We have all seen what Freiermuth can do with competent quarterback play and opportunities. In 2022, Freiermuth saw a career-high 98 targets. Comparing that to the Tennessee Titans in 2020, their top tight end, Jonnu Smith and fullback Anthony Firsker combined for 118 targets.
But in 2023, when Smith was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, the combination of Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith had 160 targets. This is what we expect to see between Freiermuth and Darnell Washington with Freirmuth getting the Lion’s share. The Falcons ran their offense through one wide receiver, one running back and a tandem of tight ends. The formula is Pittsburgh will look a little different but Freiermuth is poised for a breakout.
