The Pittsburgh Steelers came into this season with questions about who their number two pass catcher would be. DK Metcalf stood out as the number one, but the team’s receiver depth wasn’t great. However, their tight end room looked like it could make up for that issue. Pat Freiermuth in particular seemed primed for a big year. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case, but Aaron Rodgers wants to get him more involved.
“I feel like he had more reps that game and more opportunities to be in the progression early in the progression,” Rodgers said Wednesday via the team’s website. “I think that was a big part of it. But Pat [Freiermuth’s] a really smart player and we gotta keep finding ways to get him on the field.
“Darnell [Washington’s] been a big part of our success, but we gotta give Pat some more opportunities, too. And maybe both of them out there at the same time.”
Freiermuth has 22 catches for 260 yards and three touchdowns in nine games this year. Most of those yards came in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, too. Freiermuth posted five catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns in that game.
Also, he started to lose snaps to Washington once the Steelers began to use their jumbo package more. There was even a three-game span where Freiermuth only recorded two catches for 17 yards. Part of that was due to the Steelers’ game plan, but considering how much Freiermuth is being paid, he should be more involved.
Perhaps getting him on the field at the same time as Washington could help improve the Steelers’ offense. They played a similar number of snaps last week. Freiermuth played 26 snaps, while Washington played 25. However, Freiermuth still didn’t have a great game, only catching three passes for 33 yards. The Steelers’ offense as a whole had a rough day in that game, though.
Freiermuth could be in line for a big performance this week, too. The Steelers are playing the Cincinnati Bengals, and Freiermuth has had some of his best games in the NFL against them. The Bengals’ defense hasn’t gotten any better since then, either. This week could be a good opportunity for the Steelers to get Freiermuth going again.
The Steelers are looking for someone to step up when Metcalf is in double coverage. The combination of Freiermuth and Washington could be the answer. Washington has improved as a receiver, and Freiermuth has demonstrated in the past that he can be a reliable option. Both of them are talented. We’ll see if the Steelers consider Rodgers’ suggestion to get them on the field at the same time more this week.
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