Player: TE Pat Freiermuth
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: After weeks of diminished opportunities, Pat Freiermuth stepped up on Thursday. The Steelers lost, but their well-paid tight end re-introduced himself into the offense. On five catches, he went for 111 yards and scored two touchdowns. If the Steelers can suddenly realize he is one of their top receiving threats, that would be one silver lining to the loss in Cincinnati.
In the Steelers’ first five games, Pat Freiermuth drew 11 targets, catching eight passes for 76 yards. On Thursday, he caught five passes on six targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns. And these types of games are not completely alien to him, even though this is a first.
Freiermuth has had a 100-yard game before. He has had a two-touchdown game before. He had never had both in the same game before Thursday, and that is rare. In fact, a Steelers tight end hasn’t done that since Elbie Nickel more than 70 years ago.
All of a sudden, Freiermuth is second on the team in receiving yards and tied for second in receiving touchdowns. But is this going to be a one-game thing, or will they start using him more? That’s the question, and the latter has been a weekly ponderance all season.
After all, the Steelers seemingly set up their offense around the tight ends this year. And Pat Freiermuth has been their top tight end for years. Yes, Darnell Washington has been steadily ascending, and they traded for Jonnu Smith, a 2024 Pro Bowler.
But it had been chronically hard to explain Freiermuth’s usage. On Thursday, he reminded fans, and perhaps coaches, that he can be a big asset. He knows how to find the cushions in zones. He doesn’t make every play, but he is the most sure-handed tight end the Steelers had since Heath Miller.
The thing is, the Steelers should have WR Calvin Austin III back for their next game. And they will still play Washington and Smith. Are they going to put Freiermuth back in the box? After Thursday’s game, QB Aaron Rodgers said he saw something on the sideline that led to him incorporating the play on which Freiermuth scored both of his touchdowns. All of this happened in the second half, due to an in-game adjustment. Will this happy accident remain a one-off or build toward something sustainable? We’re talking about a guy who has scored seven touchdowns in a season multiple times.
With regular season underway and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
