Steelers Scouting Profile: Is Pat Freiermuth the next Heath?

Freiermuth’s Projection

There was a good reason that the Steelers had quite a few personal on hand for the Penn St. pro day, and Freiermuth was one of them. For those fans longing for the days of Miller, Freiermuth is a more modern take. No, he isn’t Matt Speath when blocking, but he does enough for it to be a positive in his game.

As a receiver, Freiermuth uses his physicality and good hands to make his mark. Early on he should be a solid check down option and red zone threat as he develops his overall game. Long term, he needs to work on his route running to be a more consistent threat in the passing game. His athleticism is what it is, so maximizing the routes you are running will be a must for him.

While he has been called “Baby Gronk” by fans, I don’t see him getting close to that type of a threat in the passing game. Instead, I think he compares more favorably to T.J. Hockenson. A big physical tight end that needs some work in the passing game but can be used to block early on. That said, Hockenson was the better receiver and athlete coming out of college, so I don’t expect Freiermuth to be going nearly as high as Hockenson did.

At the end of the day, Freiermuth is a player the Steelers need to be targeting. If he was a little more dynamic in the passing game, he would be a slam-dunk first-round pick, but that isn’t the case. I could see him going off the board towards the end of the first round or, more likely, atop the second round. The Steelers could do well to trade back and target him or trade up in the second for him. He isn’t quite enough to worthy of pick 24, but I don’t see him lasting until pick 55.