Big plays, longer catches help Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth ascend to upper-echelon NFL tight end

Coming off a rookie season that featured several superlatives and set a franchise record, it was unusual to hear Pat Freiermuth use such a negative term to describe one aspect of his game last year.

“My yards per (reception),” Freiermuth said this spring, “was atrocious.”

It was anything but in Freiermuth’s most recent outing, nor has it been in almost any of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ games this season.

A 57-yard catch-and-run during the second quarter set up the Steelers’ only touchdown of last week’s win at the Atlanta Falcons. It was the Steelers’ longest gain of the season and their second-longest play from scrimmage over their past 41 games.

Playmaker Pat Freiermuth ????

????: #PITvsATL on CBS
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/nbB56lr2sm pic.twitter.com/ISodvZ1Xwu

— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2022

According to the NFL’s statistical arm, Next Gen Stats, Freiermuth’s big play gained 43 yards over expected (YACOE), the fourth-most YACOE on any play across the league in Week 13. It was the third-most YACOE of any play all season by a tight end, the 16th-most of any catch by any player regardless of position.

“It’s reasonable to expect (second-year players) to make a significant jump,” coach Mike Tomlin said this week in referencing Freiermuth. “He had a lot of success in his first year. He made us really optimistic about the prospects of this year. I think it’s just kind of coming to fruition.”

Freiermuth’s yards per reception are up a whopping 43% from his rookie season to 11.9 in 2022. How bad was Freiermuth’s yards per catch in 2021? At 8.3, it was dead last among all qualifying NFL tight ends and ranked 112th out of 115 qualifying wide receivers or tight ends in the league.

But how much better has Freiermuth been in that area in 2022? His yards per catch has dipped below his 2021 level in only two of the 11 individual games he has played, and this season he ranks in the top eight among NFL tight ends in that category.

“He’s a guy that knows how to find voids on his own,” quarterback Kenny Pickett said. “He has a really good feel for it. I think he has a really high IQ. He works hard during the week, and we go through a lot of different looks to make sure we’re prepared. All that goes into it on Sundays, and then obviously he’s a (heck) of a player.”

Pat Freiermuth on taking the experience of a strong finish last season and applying it to their situation this December pic.twitter.com/vdbZAmpY18

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 7, 2022

In traditional statistics among NFL tight ends, Freiermuth ranks fourth in catches (50) and receiving yards (597). This comes after a rookie season in which he led rookie tight ends in touchdown receptions (seven) and was second in receptions (60) and receiving yards (497) while setting the franchise record for catches by a rookie tight end.

According to Pro-football-reference.com, only two NFL tight ends have broken more tackles than Freiermuth (six).

The advanced stats favor Freiermuth, too. Pro Football Focus’ subjective grades rate Freiermuth as the NFL’s third-best tight end both overall and for receiving. PFF grades Freiermuth as the 11th-best blocking tight end among the 44 who have been thrown to the most. He ranks sixth in yards per route run.

It’s clear the transition from a 39-year-old, 18-year veteran quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) to a rookie in Pickett has not hindered Freiermuth’s development or production.

“Repetitions and constant communication is always key,” Pickett said. “He tells me what he sees, I’ll tell him what I see, and it usually goes pretty smoothly from there. So as long as we have good communication, we feel like we’ll get on the same page, and we’ll continue to play like that.”

Over the past six games, Freiermuth is averaging five receptions, 60.3 yards per game and 12.1 yards per catch. He leads the Steelers in receiving yards and is second in catches and yards per catch.

Freiermuth said it didn’t take long after Pickett was drafted this spring for the duo to find chemistry. It shows.

“It’s developing every week, every day,” Freiermuth said. “Obviously there is more room for it to grow, and obviously some (missed) completions that we want and connections we want back. But it’s ever-growing, and I think it’s in a good place.”

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