UNITY TWP., Pa. — Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth is heading into a pivotal contract year, and Arthur Smith’s offense could be just what he needs to break through and establish himself as an elite tight end.
Last season with the Atlanta Falcons, where Smith was the head coach, tight ends Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith were second and fourth on the team in targets.
Through two training camp practices, tight ends have already been getting more targets in Smith’s offensive scheme.
“It was very refreshing,” Pat Freiermuth said. “First day coming in, seeing the targets increase. It was great.
“I watched a lot (of Smith’s film). When he first got hired, I watched Tennessee. Then over the summer I watched Tennessee and Atlanta, and we had our own film from OTAs. It’s a great offense to be in.”
Freiermuth revealed during OTAs that Smith has expanded his route tree.
“Slants, digs, and all that, I’m running it,” Freiermuth said. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s been awesome to add that, that full route tree to my repertoire. And you know, it’s been great. It’s been fun. Everything’s been great.”
With the Steelers lacking a true No. 2 wide receiver, Freiermuth could emerge as the Steelers X-factor this season.
Last month, Brooke Pryor of ESPN named Freiermuth as a player who surprised the most at minicamp/OTAs. She thinks it could be a breakout year for him.
“Arthur Smith’s offense is a tight end’s dream, and it’s already waking up Freiermuth from a nightmare of a 2023 season,” Pryor wrote. “Hampered by a nagging hamstring injury and playing in a disjointed offense, Freiermuth had a career-low 32 catches for 308 yards, less than half of his output from 2022. But the 2021 second-round pick is poised for a resurgence with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator, and he showed early signs of good chemistry with quarterback Russell Wilson through offseason workouts. The Steelers don’t have a solid WR2 option, but that might not matter as much if Freiermuth continues on the kind of upward trajectory he established this offseason.”
As Pryor alluded to, the 2023 season was just a mess for Freiermuth. He had a nagging hamstring injury that sidelined him for five games, Matt Canada’s offense rarely utilized the middle of the field, and the quarterback play was horrendous.
Freiermuth is in a much better place this season with Russell Wilson/Justin Fields at quarterback and Smith as the OC.
“Just doing different things, getting used to it, getting on the same page with the quarterbacks,” Freiermuth said about the offense. “It feels great, and I’m looking forward to this year.”
