Steelers don’t use tight ends enough
I don’t believe that the Steelers have the worst starting tight ends in the league, but there are so many factors that point to why they are a waste of money. One of them is simply because Pittsburgh doesn’t use them enough.
The Steelers have a better offensive lineup in 11 personnel when just one tight end is on the field, so paying both tight ends as much as they are getting seems like a waste. They also aren’t targetted enough in the passing game to make them worth their paychecks.
McDonald specifically has just 6 receiving yards on 4 targets this year, and throwing the ball to him is statistically worse than Roethlisberger tucking the ball and running with it. When other top tight ends like Travis Kelce have earned 20 targets by themselves through two games, what’s the sense of paying elite money for players who rarely see the ball in the passing game? They just aren’t used enough in Pittsburgh to get their money’s worth.