George Pickens remains an enigma at the No. 1 receiver spot, his reduced snap counts becoming the storyline of the week for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The complementary receiver position continues to be a hot-button issue, as the trio of pass catchers used this season have combined for 18 catches in five games.
The running game has stagnated in recent losses, and the offensive line is looking to start the same combination of players in back-to-back weeks for the first time this season.
Aside from quarterback, a position that Justin Fields could cede to Russell Wilson after this weekend, no group on offense has maintained as much consistency — and with as little drama — as tight end.
A year after Matt Canada’s departure as offensive coordinator, the position has returned to prominence in the Steelers’ offense under his replacement, Arthur Smith.
That’s hardly surprising considering Smith’s background coaching the position and his reliance on tight ends during his three seasons as Atlanta’s head coach. But what could be called unexpected is the frequency with which the tight ends have found the end zone during the 3-2 record the Steelers will put on the line Sunday at Las Vegas.
Led by Pat Freiermuth, tight ends have accounted for four of the five touchdown receptions produced by the Steelers this season.
“We have a great tight end group,” Fields said. “I think they’ve all kind of specialized in different things. They’re all versatile, and they’re all kind of different.”
Freiermuth, rewarded with a four-year contract extension before the start of the season, has emerged as the Steelers’ most consistent offensive threat. With 20 receptions on 23 targets, Freiermuth has only 12 fewer catches than he did the entire 2023 season, his two touchdowns lead the team, and his 178 receiving yards are second to Pickens’ 310. He also has the most yards after catch of a non-running back on the roster.
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Freiermuth’s role on the roster is such that he has helped replace the production vacated by Diontae Johnson’s trade to Carolina.
“If you’re talking specifically about the passing game, you can’t exclude Muth,” coach Mike Tomlin said earlier in the week. “He’s a tight end, but he is a receiver in that he is a central component of what we do in the passing game.”
The other two tight ends returning from the Canada era also have found ways to reach the end zone. Darnell Washington, known more for his role as a blocker, scored his first career touchdown in Week 2 at Denver. And the versatile Connor Heyward caught a 16-yard touchdown pass last weekend — the second score of his career — against Dallas to give the Steelers a second-half lead.
The fourth tight end on the 53-man roster to enter the season, former Falcons player MyCole Pruitt, has just one catch for 9 yards and will miss his fourth consecutive game Sunday because of injury. His replacement, Rodney Williams, has contributed on special teams.
“All of them are smart,” Fields said. “They definitely allow us to do a lot of things on offense.”
Smith has continued his trend of making the tight end a focal point of the offense.
In his final season in Atlanta, the Falcons used a two tight-end formation more than any team in the league. Only two teams used three tight ends more frequently.
The Steelers have deployed two tight ends on 23.5% of all offensive snaps, an increase from 18% last season. When it comes to using three tight ends, the Steelers have done it a league-high 17% of the snaps. Last year, that figure was 5%, and the league average is 2.2%.
That naturally has led to an increase in chances for the tight ends to catch passes.
Steelers tight ends have been targeted 36 times this season compared to 26 through five weeks in 2023. Freiermuth has been targeted 23 times after getting 13 at this stage a year ago when he was injured in the fourth week and missed five games with a hamstring injury.
“I’m very confident in what they have me doing,” Freiermuth said. “If they want to put more on my plate, I’m welcoming that. I’m here to get better, and I’m here for the team.”
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Freiermuth has played 73% of all offensive snaps, the highest allotment in his four-year career.
In the days leading up to the game against Dallas, Smith indicated that he wanted to increase Freiermuth’s chances. Although Freiermuth caught just three passes for 26 yards, his 6-yard touchdown catch with 4:56 to play gave the Steelers their final lead.
“Is that something you maybe need to exploit a little bit more? Well, certainly,” Smith said. “He is a big part of every plan.”
So is Washington, at least from a literal standpoint. At 6-foot-7, 264 pounds, Washington is the largest member of the tight end corps. In his second NFL season, he has evolved from being a blocking specialist into a red zone target as evidenced by his touchdown catch against the Broncos.
“I’ve never had a tight end like Darnell — a guy that size and that kind of agility and feel for space,” Smith said. “He’s playing really good football.”
Washington already has two fewer catches than he did his entire rookie season, and he has played 52% of the snaps this year, a 4% increase from 2023.
“It throws defense off a little more,” Washington said about his usage in the passing game. “All last year what I mainly did was block. Now teams might say, ‘They did this last week with him, are they going to do the same thing this week?’
“It could keep them guessing.”
Of the three top tight ends, Heyward is the one whose playing time has been reduced from last season. It has dropped in half — from 38% last year to 19% of the snaps.
Fields, though, hasn’t been afraid to get Heyward involved. He looked for Heyward on a deep sideline route on the Steelers’ first possession against the Cowboys, the ball slipping through the tight end’s outstretched grasp for an incompletion.
“You have to stay mentally even,” said Heyward, who bounced back in the second half with his touchdown catch. “It’s taking the good with the bad.”
For the tight ends, the good has outweighed the bad through five weeks.