One of the more underrated storylines for the Pittsburgh Steelers new offense entering 2026 was how it would impact veteran tight end Pat Freiermuth.
While previous Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loved deploying tight ends, Smith often made establishing Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith a priority over Freiermuth in 2025. That angered critics, who pointed to Freiermuth’s skillset and higher salary as reasons why the Steelers needed to get more out of him.
In Week 1, the Steelers did just that. Freiermuth scored the team’s only offensive touchdown while catching all five of his targets for 46 yards.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers addressed the tight end’s first game of the new season while looking ahead at the New England Patriots matchup Wednesday.
“It’s always good having Pat involved,” Rodgers told reporters. “Pat had a great training camp, so I’m not surprised by him getting a lot of looks, and he made contested catches.
“He made good adjustments. He was great after the catch like the Pat that we all know about.”
Freiermuth’s five catches were tied for a team high in Week 1. He finished ranked fourth in targets behind D.K. Metcalf, Roman Wilson and Jaylen Warren.
Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth Poised for Bounce Back 2026 Season?
Freiermuth led all Steelers tight ends in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns last season. With that in mind, the team didn’t really underutilize the tight end.
But his 41 catches and 486 yards were the fewest Freiermuth has recorded in a full season during his career. From a per game standpoint, Freiermuth posted 28.6 yards per contest last season. He had 38.4 yards per contest in 2024 and a career-best 45.8 during 2022.
Freiermuth averaged 3.17 targets per game in 2025. He registered 4.59 targets per contest during 2024.
The Steelers starting tight end needs to be closer to that 2024 average or even above it. So it was great to see Freiermuth off to a fast start, posting statistics above those averages in Week 1.
Pittsburgh still has Washington, who is a mammoth at tight end. The Steelers can use him in matchup specific scenarios, as they did at the end of Week 1 to pick up a key first down.
But Freiermuth is more skilled as a pass-catcher and should be the priority to target in the middle of the field and red zone.
Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy Address Freiermuth Before Patriots Matchup
Rodgers wasn’t the only key Steelers leader to talk about Freiermuth on Wednesday. While speaking to reporters in his mid-week media session, head coach Mike McCarthy called involving the tight end “very important.”
“I think just a lot of the basis of throwing a football. I mean, you look at the tight end, right in that viewpoint of the quarterback, especially when you’re developing a younger quarter, that’s something to really pay attention to,” said McCarthy.
“But most importantly, Pat is a premiere player for us. He’s done everything that we’ve asked since I arrived here, and there really is not anything you would stay away from. He runs the option routes, all the different things. He’s more of a traditional vertical.
“You want to see the bigger guys run down in the seam and things like that, so that comes very natural to him, but we plan on utilizing him throughout the year that way.”
The Steelers defeated the Patriots last season without Freiermuth very involved. The tight end had just one catch for six yards in Pittsburgh’s 21-14 victory at Foxboro last September.
But the Steelers will likely need a lot more offense to leave New England with another win this Sunday. The Steelers beat the Patriots last season despite only recording 203 yards because they forced five turnovers.
Establishing Freiermuth could be key to the Steelers defeating the Patriots, or really any opponent this season.
Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Delivers Message on Pat Freiermuth Before Patriots Game