It’s not often the Steelers catch all other 31 NFL teams asleep at the wheel. In the second round of the draft, they did precisely that.
As the 55th selection, nearly everyone assumed Pittsburgh would take any of the remaining offensive linemen on the draft board, Jalen Mayfield was available; even Creed Humphrey was still undrafted. Then Franco Harris came to the podium to announce the Steelers selection with the 55th pick. He Called out Pat Freiermuth, tight end from Penn State. The selection caught many teams and analysts by surprise.
Steelers analyst Mike Prisuta was a bit surprised by this selection. He seemed confident the Steelers would look at a tight end; he didn’t think they would draft one at the second selection. On the NFL Radio, one of the talk show hosts seriously expected the Steelers to take one of the available centers. Yet the Steelers chose the best tight end on the board. No doubt the selection seemed surprising, and on the other hand, the Steelers sandbagged the entire NFL.
Some projected Freiermuth as a late first-round selection. The Jaguars had considered him, and perhaps had Travis Etienne not been available, they might have selected him in the first round on the 25th selection. Then he fell through to the second round. It would seem that most teams assumed he would stay on the board through the 60th selection or possibly the early 3rd round. So no one rushed to select him sooner. Then the Steelers made their selection and took the second-highest-rated tight end in the 2021 draft, punking all of the other teams that may have been considering him. The rest of the NFL was lulled into the false sense of security that the Steelers would select a tackle or center with their second selection. A decision they may regret in 2021.
Why Freiermuth?
Several fans were left shaking their heads, no doubt, trying to make sense of why the Steelers would take a tight end with the pressing need of a tackle or center. Ok, yes, perhaps a bit odd initially; however, the selection was pure genius. In selecting a tight end, they solved two problems with one pick. It gives the Steelers an extra blocker specifically for the running game, or even in the passing game if they happen to run a double tight end set. Yes, the Steelers needed more blockers; in Freiermuth, they got that, plus they gave Ben Roethlisberger an additional weapon.
The Steelers vastly upgraded their rushing game with Najee Harris. The Steelers resigned JuJu Smith-Schuster, and still have Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, who has superb blocking abilities, and James Washington. The last thing rest of the NFL wanted to do is give the Steelers, who won their first 11 games, an additional weapon he can use in the passing game, or if need be, one to can help open running lanes for Najee Harris.
If opposing teams try to go man to man or double cover the wide receivers, Freiermuth will fill the role once held by another tight. Who was that? Oh yes, Heath Miller. Ok, here come the groans. Miller is a potential future Hall of Famer and was at one point the best tight end in the game. No one is saying Freiermuth is another potential Hall of Famer. However, he could be very productive.
Plus, there is a second reason Freiermuth’s selection was genius. When most teams run a double tight end set, they only have to worry about one tight end. Now anyone on the Steelers’ schedule has to worry about two tight ends.
Double Tight End Threat
With all of the Steelers’ wide receivers, and their newly drafted running back, Pittsburgh still has a tight end, Eric Ebron. Ok, here comes another group of moans. Ebron, dropped all of those passes last year, he’s not great! Ok, Ebron is no Heath Miller, he’s no Travis Kelce either. Yes, he did drop some passes in 2020, but then who didn’t. Ebron finished with a 61.5% catch ratio. Not great, but not shabby. What most don’t realize when Ebron caught the ball, most of his catches made a difference in the game. Of 56 receptions, 53.57% were for first downs. That’s over half of his receptions that extended drives. Add in five touchdowns that’s 61 receptions. So, in the end, 67.03% of all of Ebron’s receptions resulted in a first down or a touchdown. He made the best of most of his receptions.
In Heath Miller’s entire career, 66.55% of his receptions were either first downs or touchdowns. So Ebron, by those standards, had a decent first season with the Steelers. Getting technical for Ebron’s career, 69.3% of all of his receptions were for first downs or touchdowns. So in that sense, he still exceeds Miller.
Now add Pat Freiermuth. It’s hard to gauge how he will perform at this stage. But the kid has talent, or Pittsburgh would not have selected him. Nonetheless, he brings a lot to the Steelers, and it’s a salivating experience waiting to see how he performs when Pittsburgh takes the field. Even more, it’s one additional receiver opposing teams have to cover. If the Steelers run a double-tight end set, then the opposition has to be wary of both.
Plus, adding Najee Harris to the equation complicates the equation more if they run a screen. If they pump fake to Harris and a linebacker takes the bait, it opens up either Freiermuth or Ebron. If not, then one of the receivers gets open. Opposing teams never thought out the consequences of allowing Pittsburgh to draft Freiermuth. Now they are left to figure out how to stop the Steelers offense in 2021.
It’s not often the Steelers get a chance to punk the rest of the NFL. With teams so fixated on the retirement of Pouncey and the loss of Alejandro Villanueva, no one expected Pittsburgh could steal the second-highest-rated tight end right out from underneath their noses. The Steelers did just that.