Pat Freiermuth’s 2025 season is one he’ll want to forget. While Darnell Washington started to ascend, Freiermuth saw more and more of his opportunities taken away. Not all of that was Freiermuth’s fault, but it raises question marks about him for the 2026 season. It wasn’t that long ago that the Steelers paid Freiermuth, and he’s still among the top-paid tight ends in the league.
However, analyst Nate Tice doesn’t view Freiermuth as highly, suggesting his name during an exercise where he put together the NFL’s “All-Average” team.
“If I wanted to get one new name in here, it would be Pat Freiermuth, who [has] become the TE2 in the Steelers,” Tice said recently on his Football 301 podcast. “They just paid Darnell Washington the week we’re doing this pod.
“There’s some Aaron Rodgers love there, but the reps they’re giving Washington, that’s gonna be the true de-facto TE1 there because he’s a true Y and has a little bit of receiving flashes. But Freiermuth is in the same [Cade] Otton tier. Everything is fine, solid. Maybe just a toned-down version of Otton. He might be the better answer for this…I think Freiermuth is more perfect to be the all-average guy right here.”
Freiermuth has had moments where he looks better than average, but it’s hard to argue that he’s more that after last year. He finished the season with 41 catches for 486 yards and four touchdowns. Much of that production came in one game, though, with Freiermuth exploding for 111 yards and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals.
That performance showed how valuable Freiermuth can be when properly utilized. He’s had some other solid years, too, including 2025, where he tallied 65 catches for 653 yards and seven touchdowns.
While that’s still not incredible, consider how inept Pittsburgh’s offense has been during Freiermuth’s tenure there. He’s never had the same quarterback throw him the ball in Week 1 in back-to-back seasons. That should change this season with Aaron Rodgers, but it’s still a testament to the Steeler’s offensive inconsistency.
Fortunately, Freiermuth should get more chances this year. Jonnu Smith and Arthur Smith are both gone. They seemed like two of the biggest factors that contributed to Freiermuth’s decreased production in 2025.
Now, Freiermuth and Washington are poised to get most of the work at tight end in Pittsburgh. While Washington got more work than Freiermuth last year, there might be a more even split between them this season. They have different skill sets, so the Steelers should be able to use them in different ways.
Freiermuth might not ever be one of the league’s top tight ends. However, there’s nothing wrong with that. He can still be a valuable piece of the Steelers’ offense, if used correctly. We’ll see if some consistency at quarterback helps him this season.
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