PatFreiermuth

News: 1 day agoFreiermuth caught all five of his targets for 46 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 20-13 win over Atlanta.

Spin: Freiermuth looked great in Pittsburgh's season opener, ranking second on the team in receiving yardage and tying for first in catches. He accounted for the Steelers' lone offensive touchdown when he connected with Aaron Rodgers for a six-yard score in the second quarter. The five receptions were as many as Freiermuth had in any contest all of last season. Meanwhile, Darnell Washington had a quieter game statistically with two catches (on two targets) for 18 yards. Freiermuth and Washington figure to jockey for tight-end targets and snaps throughout the campaign.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Freiermuth's career trajectory has been quite the head-scratcher, but the bottom line is he is yet to emerge as a consistent fantasy starter. The 2021 second-round pick flirted with TE1 status in both 2022 (11th in fantasy PPG) and 2024 (14th) but saw a dramatic dip in usage in Pittsburgh's crowded tight end room in 2025. Freiermuth posted a career-low 10% target share and finished outside the top 20 at the position in snaps, routes, targets, catches, yards and end zone targets, and 30 tight ends bested his 6.7 fantasy PPG. The 27-year-old figures to play more in 2026 with Jonnu Smith gone and Mike McCarthy running the offense, but Pittsburgh is also better at wide receiver with Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard in the fold. Freiermuth has some sleeper appeal, but he's best valued as a back-end TE2.