Factoid

May 07, 2021

Eric Ebron / Pat Freiermuth

Steelers second-rounder has big opportunity

While Kyle Pitts deservedly garners the most interest among rookies at the tight end position, I'm looking at another player to potentially target a little later in rookie drafts. The Steelers drafted Pat Freiermuth out of Penn State late in the second round, and he could make a big impact in their offense.

Probably not in 2021, with the team still having Eric Ebron at the position, and with tight end being a notoriously difficult position for rookies to contribute right away. But Ebron has struggled with drops throughout his career, and in general hasn't been particularly efficient with his chances.

To be sure, Ebron has had his moments. He caught 13 touchdowns with the Colts two years ago, and 5 with Pittsburgh last year. As a red-zone threat, he's been effective, when he's not dropping balls.

But over the last three years, he's turned 253 targets into just 153 catches (just over 60 percent) and only 6.7 yards per target. Those are both near the bottom of the league among all non-running backs to see at least 200 targets over that time span. He's involved, but he hasn't been effective enough that Pittsburgh won't give Freiermuth some opportunities if he shows well in the preseason.

YARDS PER TARGET, 2018-2020 (MINIMUM 200 TARGETS)
Pos	Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Tgt	Pct	Avg/Tgt
WR	Mike Evans	223	3,687	16.5	29	365	61.1	10.1
WR	Chris Godwin	210	3,015	14.4	23	300	70.0	10.1
WR	Mike Williams	140	2,421	17.3	17	241	58.1	10.0
WR	Tyreek Hill	232	3,615	15.6	34	361	64.3	10.0
TE	George Kittle	221	3,064	13.9	12	306	72.2	10.0
WR	Tyler Lockett	239	3,076	12.9	28	312	76.6	9.9
WR	Julio Jones	263	3,842	14.6	17	395	66.6	9.7
WR	Kenny Golladay	155	2,591	16.7	18	267	58.1	9.7
WR	DK Metcalf	141	2,203	15.6	17	229	61.6	9.6
WR	Brandin Cooks	203	2,937	14.5	13	308	65.9	9.5
WR	DJ Moore	208	3,156	15.2	10	335	62.1	9.4
WR	Calvin Ridley	217	3,061	14.1	26	328	66.2	9.3
TE	Jared Cook	148	2,105	14.2	22	226	65.5	9.3
WR	Amari Cooper	246	3,308	13.4	20	356	69.1	9.3
TE	Travis Kelce	305	3,981	13.1	26	431	70.8	9.2
WR	Michael Thomas	314	3,568	11.4	18	387	81.1	9.2
WR	Corey Davis	173	2,476	14.3	11	273	63.4	9.1
TE	Darren Waller	203	2,416	11.9	12	268	75.7	9.0
WR	T.Y. Hilton	177	2,533	14.3	16	281	63.0	9.0
WR	Stefon Diggs	292	3,686	12.6	23	409	71.4	9.0
WR	Terry McLaurin	145	2,037	14.0	11	227	63.9	9.0
TE	Mark Andrews	156	2,105	13.5	20	236	66.1	8.9
WR	Emmanuel Sanders	198	2,463	12.4	14	277	71.5	8.9
WR	Courtland Sutton	117	1,882	16.1	10	214	54.7	8.8
WR	Adam Thielen	217	2,716	12.5	29	309	70.2	8.8
WR	DeAndre Hopkins	334	4,144	12.4	24	473	70.6	8.8
WR	Cooper Kupp	226	2,701	12.0	19	313	72.2	8.6
WR	Michael Gallup	158	2,457	15.6	13	286	55.2	8.6
WR	John Brown	147	2,233	15.2	14	264	55.7	8.5
WR	Marvin Jones	173	2,265	13.1	23	268	64.6	8.5
WR	Davante Adams	309	3,757	12.2	36	445	69.4	8.4
WR	DeVante Parker	159	2,304	14.5	14	278	57.2	8.3
WR	Robert Woods	266	3,289	12.4	14	398	66.8	8.3
WR	Sammy Watkins	129	1,613	12.5	8	200	64.5	8.1
WR	Robby Anderson	197	2,627	13.3	14	326	60.4	8.1
WR	Cole Beasley	214	2,417	11.3	13	300	71.3	8.1
WR	Nelson Agholor	151	1,995	13.2	15	248	60.9	8.0
WR	Odell Beckham	174	2,406	13.8	13	300	58.0	8.0
WR	Tyler Boyd	245	2,915	11.9	16	366	66.9	8.0
WR	Allen Robinson	255	3,151	12.4	17	399	63.9	7.9
WR	Keenan Allen	301	3,387	11.3	20	432	69.7	7.8
WR	DJ Chark	140	1,888	13.5	13	243	57.6	7.8
WR	JuJu Smith-Schuster	250	2,809	11.2	19	364	68.7	7.7
WR	Antonio Brown	153	1,836	12.0	20	238	64.3	7.7
WR	Chris Conley	119	1,580	13.3	12	205	58.0	7.7
WR	Jarvis Landry	236	2,990	12.7	13	388	60.8	7.7
WR	Julian Edelman	195	2,282	11.7	12	300	65.0	7.6
WR	Danny Amendola	167	1,855	11.1	2	245	68.2	7.6
WR	Christian Kirk	159	1,920	12.1	12	255	62.4	7.5
WR	Sterling Shepard	189	2,104	11.1	10	280	67.5	7.5
WR	Mohamed Sanu	142	1,545	10.9	7	207	68.6	7.5
WR	Golden Tate	158	1,859	11.8	12	250	63.2	7.4
WR	Curtis Samuel	170	1,972	11.6	14	267	63.7	7.4
WR	Jamison Crowder	166	1,920	11.6	14	260	63.8	7.4
TE	Austin Hooper	192	1,882	9.8	14	255	75.3	7.4
WR	Anthony Miller	134	1,564	11.7	11	215	62.3	7.3
TE	Mike Gesicki	126	1,475	11.7	11	206	61.2	7.2
TE	Evan Engram	152	1,698	11.2	7	241	63.1	7.0
TE	Jimmy Graham	143	1,539	10.8	13	225	63.6	6.8
WR	Dede Westbrook	133	1,381	10.4	8	203	65.5	6.8
WR	Diontae Johnson	147	1,603	10.9	12	236	62.3	6.8
TE	Eric Ebron	153	1,683	11.0	21	253	60.5	6.7
TE	Zach Ertz	240	2,414	10.1	15	363	66.1	6.7
WR	Larry Fitzgerald	198	1,947	9.8	11	293	67.6	6.6

Also interesting to me is that the guys in Ebron's area include several other veterans who are either unemployed, likely changing teams, or potentially retiring. Zach Ertz, Larry Fitzgerald, Dede Westbrook, perhaps Jimmy Graham (and another Steeler, Diontae Johnson). I don't think Ebron's going anywhere (he's making $6 million, expensive but not ridiculously so), but it's an area where Pittsburgh could decide to save some money if necessary, or if they like the looks of the rookie.

Freiermuth caught only 23 passes for 310 yards last year -- but that was in only four games. His first two years, he caught 7 and 8 touchdowns. Intriguing youngster to consider in rookie drafts and the later rounds of best-ball leagues.

--Andy Richardson

Pat Freiermuth Eric Ebron

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