3 Steelers who have blown away early expectations in 2021
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers have exactly had the start fans were looking for, but here are three players who are already blowing away early expectations in 2021.
Not everything has gone well for the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the 2021 season. Though they managed to come away with an unexpected win against the Bills on the road in Week 1 thanks to a stellar defensive performance, they looked bad all around against the Raiders last week.
Fortunately, there is hope. The season is still very young and three pivotal contributors on the Steelers have already surpassed early expectations. Here’s what we can expect from them as the year marches on:
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth
While Pat Freiermuth may not be the best player on the roster at this point, he might be the overall most impressive. Just two games into his rookie season, the former Penn State star has graded out inside the top 11 players at the tight end position, according to Pro Football Focus.
This lines up with what we’ve seen from him on tape. While the opportunities in the passing game have been limited (just 5 targets), Freiermuth has reeled in every pass thrown his way for 12.0 yards per reception. As a blocker, he’s been equally as impressive with his ability to move defenders in space and block on the run.
The learning curve at the tight end position is usually substantial, and it sometimes takes even great prospects years to catch on (look at David Njoku and O.J. Howard). However, Freiermuth has exceeded all my early expectations. He could become a go-to target for Ben Roethlisberger by the end of the season at this rate, as he seems to have already leapfrogged Eric Ebron on the depth chart.