For the rest of the preseason, I’m handing out Pittsburgh Steelers training camp grades. Position-by-position, we’ll evaluate each Steeler who spent training camp with the team to reveal the good, bad, and ugly. This is based on the team’s 14 public training camp practices and preseason performances through the date of each article. This grade looks at camp performance in a vacuum. Nothing else is evaluated.
Today, grading the tight ends.
_**Previous Training Camp Grades**_
[Quarterback](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/08/pittsburgh-steelers-2025-training-camp-grades-quarterback/)
[Running Back](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/08/pittsburgh-steelers-2025-training-camp-grades-running-back/)
#### Darnell Washington
An excellent camp for Washington. One of the best of anyone in Latrobe. His availability is a key but underrated part of his game. Washington didn’t miss a practice and helped prevent Pittsburgh from needing outside help when lines got thin, thanks to injuries elsewhere in the room. Coaches don’t take that for granted—a guy who shows up daily and doesn’t miss a rep.
Between the whistles, Washington was just as impressive. His blocking is elite, and I’d wager he’s the NFL’s best blocking tight end. His size gives him an obvious advantage, but his technique, pad level, and snap timing have greatly improved since his rookie year. Washington dominates the backs on ‘backers drills and gave T.J. Watt fits during their matchups. Washington won nearly every rep he took.
As a receiver, he remains a build-up runner who needs a runway to get going. But once he does, he’s hard to stop, and his hands are legitimately excellent. With ease, he snags passes away from his body. Washington’s size also makes him a jump-ball target, catching two of them over helpless safeties Miles Killebrew and DeShon Elliott.
Washington did it all in camp, which carried over to the preseason opener, snagging a 19-yard touchdown to cap off an effective drive led by QB Mason Rudolph. Washington’s camp numbers still weren’t huge (14 catches, 108 yards), but he led all tight ends with four touchdowns. Expect Rodgers to look his way more than the Steelers’ quarterbacks did a year ago.
Given his blocking ability and unicorn size, I’d confidently argue he’s the most valuable tight end the Steelers have on the roster right now. Pittsburgh can’t afford to lose him.
_**Camp Grade: A**_
#### Connor Heyward
Heyward has joined the likes of William Gay, Antwon Blake, and Mitch Trubisky as Steelers players fans love to pile onto (the fanbase eventually warmed up to Gay). No question, he carries limitations. A limited in-line blocker, Arthur Smith struggled to find a role for Heyward last season, and he’s going to enter the season as a No. 4 tight end for a reason. Even in this offense, it doesn’t lend itself to a bounty of playing time.
Still, Heyward had a nice camp. As he usually does. He’s a good athlete with a solid pair of hands. Heyward consistently adjusts to throws outside his frame and makes tough catches, routinely doing so over the camp’s final days. Sliding back over the middle on one throw behind him to make the snag, a one-hander he tipped to himself on a crossing route. His hands and overall athleticism have always been the best offensive traits of his game.
Though Rodgers didn’t often share the field with him during team period since he ran with the 1’s and Heyward the 2’s and 3’s, the two didn’t connect much. But Rodgers has praised Heyward’s football IQ, and backup quarterbacks peppered Heyward with targets. He led all tight ends with 23 receptions, 26 targets for 185 yards and one touchdown.
His one drop was an infamous flub, a rocket from Rodgers down the seam that clanked off Heyward’s facemask and into LB Patrick Queen’s hands for an interception. That blip aside, Heyward had a strong summer. His special teams value cements his roster spot and creates his gameday value. No one challenged him for a roster spot, and he’ll easily make the 53.
_**Camp Grade: B+**_
#### Pat Freiermuth
It was a serviceable camp for Freiermuth. Quieter than others but hardly bad. He made one of the summer’s biggest plays, breaking free down the middle past ILB Cole Holcomb for a 70-yard touchdown from QB Mason Rudolph, out-running S Miles Killebrew the final 30 yards.
He finished camp with 14 receptions on 20 targets for 189 yards and three touchdowns. The receptions, targets, and yards were easily the most of the team’s top-three tight ends. His hands weren’t as sure as usual, and a couple of throws clipped off his hands. We officially marked him down for one drop. Aside from one off-day of practice, he was available and worked each day of practice.
Freiermuth continues to show leadership, a role he began truly embracing last summer. Small acts like being one of the first tight ends on the field to go through pre-practice drills, checking in on rookie DJ Thomas-Jones after his injury, and doing the same when QB Aaron Rodgers got his foot stepped on the final day of camp. Freiermuth also mixed it up with DL Esezi Otomewo when RB Kaleb Johnson was aggressively tackled during a non-tackling period.
His production will be impacted by Jonnu Smith, but Freiermuth will continue being a steady target for Rodgers.
_**Camp Grade: B**_
#### Jonnu Smith
A late addition to the team brought over in the Jalen Ramsey trade, Smith’s familiarity with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith made coming to Pittsburgh like riding a bike. Smith is easily the best and most explosive athlete in the tight end room, which is why Pittsburgh wanted to add him to fit an offseason theme of physical playmakers.
A knee injury hindered Smith throughout camp, and he missed several days of practice. That limited his team period numbers to just nine receptions, though three of those catches found the end zone. Aaron Rodgers looked his way plenty during Seven Shots. In one-on-ones, he flashed his burst and vertical ability. He even dabbled as a running back, recording a 5-yard gain on a toss play. His NFL resume has a couple of carries on it.
Smith’s hands aren’t as sure as Freiermuth’s, and he’ll drop a couple more than you’d like. His blocking is just average and didn’t stand out in any meaningful way. But he’s versatile and can provide Pittsburgh with the big plays it has been in search of.
_**Camp Grade: B-**_
#### JJ Galbreath
One of my favorite rookie UDFA signings, Galbreath showed why in the early going. A fluid athlete with good hands, he showed a large catch radius and the ability to make grabs outside his frame. A twisting end zone score in Seven Shots, a one-handed snare in the flat between the 20s later in camp. They weren’t 30-yard gains but nice plays all the same. During the four-day acclimation period, Galbreath was on the rise.
His play cooled off once the pads came on. Like a lot of athletes, he wasn’t as impactful once the defense could hit back. Galbreath finished camp with 13 receptions for 89 yards and two scores with about half of those numbers coming over the first four sessions. Injuries weren’t a factor either. He missed just one day of practice and returned the following outing.
In-game, he’s hauled in a couple of passes. But his in-line blocking has been a problem. Not for a lack of want-to. He drives his feet and strains, throwing a key downfield block on RB Lew Nichols’ 37-yard run against Tampa Bay. Still, he’s undersized and lacks the play strength to hold the point of attack against defensive ends and linebackers, routinely losing his block in close quarters. In that sense, he blocks a little like Pat Freiermuth, with effort and competency in space but negativity in the trenches.
One point of kudos. To date, Galbreath has logged more preseason snaps than any non-offensive lineman and quarterback. Lines have been thin at tight end, leaving Galbreath to shoulder a heavy load while also playing on special teams. He’s highly conditioned, and that can be appreciated. Just from the practice squad, not the 53, Galbreath’s likely landing spot when the season opens up.
_**Camp Grade: B-**_
#### Kevin Foelsch
Foelsch yo-yo’d with DJ Thomas-Jones throughout the summer. Signed when Thomas-Jones was hurt, released when he came back, and then signed again once Thomas-Jones was released for good. A small schooler from D-II New Haven, Foelsch perked up in one practice with two downfield receptions for first downs. His hands seem solid. Everything else, however, was quiet, and he should make for a quick cut who will bounce around the tryout circuit this fall. Not much else to note here.
_**Camp Grade: C-**_
#### DJ Thomas-Jones
A sleeper of mine entering camp, health never allowed much of a window into what Thomas-Jones could do. He missed more than one week of camp with a right foot/ankle injury, though he avoided a serious ailment and returned to practice in August. But he sat out the final practice before the preseason game, didn’t play in the opener, and was cut days after—a straight waive without injury designation.
The few snaps he received weren’t notable. Despite being listed and built like a fullback, he didn’t take any snaps there. He was used like college as a Y-off or split out, catching two passes for 12 yards. Opportunity was limited due to injuries, and while Thomas-Jones got a few special teams reps on the punt coverage crew, he never showed anything that could place him on the 53-man roster.
_**Camp Grade: D**_