Reports from Steelers offseason camps indicate Freiermuth and Russell Wilson have a connection.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth was poised for a 2023 breakout. After scoring 7 TDs as a rookie, then garnering 98 targets and 732 yards receiving in 2022, Freiermuth was going to put it all together last season. A funny thing happened on the way to superstardom. Freiermuth suffered through a combination of injury and poor quarterback play in 2023 on his way to line of 308 yards receiving on 32 catches and 2 TDs. Roughly half, by all measures, of his previous production. Enter Russell Wilson.
Russell Wilson is the new, presumed, QB1 in Pittsburgh, and he brings with him a better ability to put the ball in the hands of his receivers than who the Steelers rolled out last season. Target monster Diontae Johnson has also left the building, leaving the vacated targets to “Muth” and WR George Pickens. Additionally, new OC Arthur Smith’s offensive scheme is heavily reliant on a pass-catching TE and has allowed Jonnu Smith and Delanie Walker to thrive. According to reports following OTAs and Steelers mini-camp, Wilson and Freiermuth have developed a connection already and Freiermuth “performed better and more consistently for four weeks” than the othe Steelers. Even if it’s not Wilson but Justin Fields, Fields had a chemistry in Chicago with Cole Kmet that led to Kmet finishing as PPR TE7 in successive seasons.
Freiermuth is a must draft across all formats. He should be able to meet either, if not both of analyst Andrew Cooper’s thresholds: 90 targets, 10 touchdowns.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth has done very ...
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth salvaged his ...
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught two of ...
New Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is looking to feature tight end Pat Freiermuth.
The Pittburgh Steelers are looking to improve on offense after the abysmal showing last season finishing 27th in scoring and 25th in total offense. Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith is stepping in for the former much-hated offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Smith is looking to bring his innovative run game and play action concepts to kickstart this offense that has struggled since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
Tight end Pat Freiermuth is looking to bounce back from injuries suffered last season. Freiermuth was TE 12 in his sophomore effort. Arthur Smith was a offensive guru when he coordinated the Tennessee Titans before joining Atlanta. Smith wants to feature Freiermuth in the role that tight end Kyle Pitts had in Atlanta. Pitts had an amazing rookie season and then had 2 average seasons. Who’s to know if Smith can return to offensive glory he had in Tennessee, as he has two new quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to pair with Freiermuth.
The biggest thing that will determine how well Pat Freiermuth will play the 2024 season is whoever is at quarterback. Russell Wilson has consistently struggled to throw the ball to the middle of the field in his career due to his height. Justin Fields on the other hand has made Bears tight end Cole Kmet a viable fantasy asset. My expectations are low on Freiermuth until Justin Fields is under center. Freiermuth is a late stash in drafts to have, look for him be snatched up quickly if Fields is named the starter.
Pat Freiermuth suffered a set back with hamstring injury which lands him on the IR.
Pittsburgh Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth has been out since week 5 with a hamstring injury. He practiced Thursday before his week 7 game and suffered a set back reaggravating his hamstring injury. The setback lands him on the IR.
Hamstring strains have hit the NFL hard this year. Cooper Kupp dealt with a aggravation of a prior hamstring injury and was forced on IR. Now we get a similar outcome for Freiermuth after his set back in Thursdays practice. He is now going to miss at least 4 weeks with the injury.
After the first hamstring injury the recommendation was to move on from Freiermuth in fantasy, nothing has changed. If he wasn’t dropped already do it now. Diontae Johnson is expected to make his return from the IR in week 7 coming off his own hamstring injury, and he will be reclaiming his spot as the top target earner in the offense. Freiermuth even upon his return (whenever that may be) will be hard pressed to earn targets in a still struggling Pittsburgh offense. Before the Week 6 bye the Steelers utilized Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington at the TE position. Washington the rookie TE earned 2 targets catching zero, and Connor Heyward operated as the lead TE earning 4 targets catching 3 passes for 23 yards. Neither TE has been encouraging even with Freiermuth banged up all year, and with Diontae back do not expect that to change. This Pittsburgh offense coming out of a bye still has a lot to prove before any of their offensive players can be trusted with confidence in lineups.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth has been officially ruled OUT week 5 Vs the Baltimore Ravens.
The Pittsburgh Steelers took another significant hit to their pass catching group week 4 in their blowout loss to the Houston Texans. Starting TE Pat Freiermuth left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return. Reports said he could miss the next 2-3 weeks with the injury, and he has been officially ruled out for week 5s rivalry matchup Vs the Baltimore Ravens.
Pat Freiermuth joins Diontae Johnson in the training room with hamstring injuries leaving behind George Pickens with all the target share he can possibly receive. Freiermuth has been a disappointment to many fantasy managers to start the year, as he has been in and out of games and hasn’t earned the targets we were used to seeing from him.
This new hamstring injury now makes Pat less than desirable to roster in all redraft formats. The lack of usage from Pat Freiermuth early on does not indicate an increased usage for any of the other Steelers TEs aiming to replace him. This injury simply condenses the target share, and the biggest beneficiary besides George Pickens will be the RBs who will get even more work in the short area passing game and in the red zone where Pat despite the decreased overall usage still had a penchant for scoring TDs. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren both have pass catching ability for this struggling Pittsburgh offense and will get increased usage. The TEs in Pittsburgh are not exciting but it’s at least good to know that Rookie TE Darnell Washington played more passing snaps(11) in week 4 than Connor Heyward(0), do with that information what you will.
