Every year, on the fourth Sunday of October, the NFL celebrates National Tight Ends Day. The unofficial holiday began in 2018 with San Francisco 49ers teammates coining the term on the sideline of a game. Thanks largely to George Kittle, it’s turned into a full-blown celebration of one of football’s most versatile positions.
This season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers on National Tight Ends Day. That position group has gotten a lot of buzz in Pittsburgh this season. The offseason acquisition of Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington’s growth as a threat in the pass game has resulted in a new element to the offense.
Last week in Cincinnati, the Steelers had four touchdowns from tight ends. Pat Freiermuth torched the Bengals defense with two second-half touchdown catches and 111 total yards. Smith found the end zone on the Pittsburgh’s opening drive and Washington capped off a Jerome Bettis-esque stat-line of 3 receptions for 2 yards and one touchdown with his fourth quarter score.
Connor Heyward was quiet against Cincinnati but caught his first touchdown of the season the week prior against Cleveland.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has taken notice of the Steelers abundance of talent at the tight end position.
“Yeah, they got a bunch of good ones,” said LaFleur while speaking to the media on Friday. “Freiermuth got loose last week for Cincinnati, obviously. Washington’s a massive human. There’s not too many tight ends that are his size in the league and he’s fits a very specific role. And then Jonnu, I was with Jonnu back in Tennessee and he’s one of the more explosive guys in regards to being able to catch and run.
“So, they got a bunch of weapons there.”
LIVE: Head Coach Matt LaFleur speaks to the media 🎙️ https://t.co/NOQI8kFR28
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 24, 2025
LaFleur was quick to note that Freiermuth was coming off a big game against Cincinnati as Green Bay surely spent time this week planning ways to stop him. Freirmuth, who was injured and missed the Steelers last encounter with the Packers in 2023, had his season breakout game against the Bengals defense. After having only two receptions over the previous three games, he was a major factor in the success of the Steelers’ passing attack.
LaFleur’s comments about Washington echo a common theme that we’ve heard from analysts and coaches this season. His size presents issues for defenses in the passing game while his blocking ability is akin to having an extra offensive lineman on the field.
Smith began his career with the Tennessee Titans, and LaFleur’s one season as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator overlapped with his tenure. Surely LaFleur is as familiar with Smith’s ability as a receiver as anyone and his comments echo the fact that Smith is one of the NFL’s preeminent pure receiving threats at the tight end position.
It’s refreshing to see another head coach praise the Steelers tight end group. As LaFleur noted, it’s not only the quantity of capable weapons but also the uniqueness of the skillset that sets the Steelers tight end room apart.
Surely LaFleur isn’t just heaping praise in to continue the celebration of National Tight Ends Day. The Steelers tight ends have proven to be a legitimate concern for opposing defenses. The tight ends will assuredly factor into this game if Aaron Rodgers has a quality showing against his former team.
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