The Steelers finally drafted a tight end high. Pat Freiermuth is a well-rounded player but doesn’t have terrific upside.
Fans finally got their wish with the 55th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. It had been 14 years since the Steelers had spent as much as a 3rd round pick on the tight end position. This year, Pittsburgh finally invested draft capital at tight end – investing their 2nd round draft choice in Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth.
Freiermuth missed most of his 2020 campaign with a shoulder injury, but he was quite productive prior to his injury and was widely regarded as the second-best tight end in the draft behind Florida’s Kyle Pitts. I’ve watched a great deal of Freiermuth before he was drafted by the Steelers, and I did a much deeper dive after the draft. Here’s my scouting report on the big tight end:
Strengths:
- Prototypical height and weight for the position (6’5”, 251 pounds)
- Has the play strength to hold up at the point of attack
- A willing blocker who can drive defenders back in the run game
- A quality receiver who can routinely make contested catches in traffic
- High level of physicality after the catch; looks for someone to hit
- Good production with 92 catches, 1,185 yards, and 16 touchdowns despite missing most of his junior season in 2020
- Can operate inline and from the slot – both at a high level
- Very natural hands catcher and overall football player; great feel for the game
Pat Freiermuth is very much in the traditional mold of the ‘Y’ tight end as the player who lines up off tackle. However, he’s a good enough receiver to wear multiple hats and he can easily be flexed out into the slot. In the passing game, he showcases quality hands and the ability to naturally pluck the ball from the air.
Freiermuth is a willing blocker who has a few dominant plays here and there. He has the size and frame to add more play strength in the NFL. This should be an area he will continue to improve in.
Weaknesses:
- Good overall size, but below-average arm length (32 1/2”) and wingspan (77 3/4”)
- Inconsistent play-to-play as a blocker; disengages too easily at times
- Needs to work on his leg drive and staying square through his blocks
- Far too many concentration drops
- Not a great athlete with virtually no speed to pull away from defenders down the seem
- No athletic testing numbers from his Pro Day, but results wouldn’t have been great
- Still raw as a route-runner; did not have a big route tree at Penn State
- Physical, but not a lot of wiggle after the catch
- Despite age (turns 23 in October) still somewhat raw as a football player
- Shoulder injury that caused him to miss all but 4 games in 2020 is a bit of a concern
Pat Freiermuth really needs to clean up his technique as a blocker. Depending on the game or specific clip you watch, he can look dominant at the point of attack or leave you scratching your head. He often lets defenders disengage too easily and needs to do a better job keeping his body square and driving through his blocks until the whistle.
As a receiver, Freiermuth had too many concentration drops at Penn State, and this is something he will need to clean up if he wants to be that reliable option of the middle of the field for Ben Roethlisberger (or to develop trust with whomever the next quarterback will be in Pittsburgh). He’s also raw as a route runner and had a limited route tree in college.
Projected role for the Steelers
Freiermuth will immediately begin his career as the number two tight end in Pittsburgh – a job he really won’t even need to compete for, as he is heads and shoulders above players like Zach Gentry or Kevin Rader. However, his role with the team could be a bit limited from the gate.
I expect Eric Ebron to handle most of the tight end duties in ’11’ personnel this year, with Freiermuth operating at the ‘Y’ tight end in ’12’ personnel. Ebron is not much of a blocker at all, so Pat’s immediate role is probably going to be limited to mostly being a blocker.
Ebron is on a voidable-year contract that technically expires after the 2021 season. This likely means that Freiermuth could move to a full-time TE1 role in 2022 as the every-down tight end for the Steelers. It’s certainly a safe bet to assume that he will play a much larger role in the passing game in 2022 than he will as a rookie this year.
The Steelers are really high on Pat Freiermuth, and they love the well-balanced skill set he brings to the table. While he does possess the traits to do a little bit of everything, Freiermuth doesn’t excel at any one particular area. I expect him to be a solid, yet unspectacular tight end who can get the job done, but will never be considered an elite player for his position.