Pittsburgh Steelers pre-training camp 53-man roster prediction

Tight ends (3):

Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Connor Heyward (HB/TE)

Pat Freiermuth was thoroughly impressive as a rookie for the Steelers. Despite playing one of the hardest positions to master in the NFL, Freiermuth didn’t look at all out of place in his first NFL season in 2021. He has a very promising career ahead of him.

After Freiermuth, Zach Gentry is essentially a lock to be the team’s second tight end. This was a role that nearly went to Kevin Rader last year, but Gentry ultimately won the job and proved to be a valuable asset in 2021. He will handle duties as the in-line ‘Y’ tight end. The traditional tight end can block and even be a weapon over the middle of the field from time to time thanks to his massive catch radius.

This leaves one tight end spot up for grabs. Rookie Connor Heyward and practice squad TE Kevin Rader are likely to battle it out for the final spot. In the end, I have Pittsburgh going with their draft investment and Cam’s little brother.

Heyward gives Pittsburgh some versatility and a potential special teams coverage ace. He seems likely to be one of the Steelers training camp darlings this year.