Pat Freiermuth

Pittsburgh Steelers·#88

Pos TEHt 6'5"Wt 258 lbExp 5 yrCollege Penn State

Updated September 21, 2026

TE rankings →

Model Score

87.7 MODEL

2021

88.3

2022

89.8

2023

86.2

2024

90.7

2025

87.7

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

Season Stats · 1 games

Rec

Rec Yds

Rec TD

Targets

46.0

Yds/Gm

15.6

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

0.747

EPA / target

4.5 yd

Avg separation

8.0 yd

Avg cushion

1.0

YAC over exp

100.0%

Catch %

Draft & College

Round 2, pick 55 · Pittsburgh Steelers · 2021

Penn State (Big Ten)

Taken

#55

where he actually went

Consensus board

68th

average of the public big boards that spring

Our college model

#11

among TE in our college data

He went about where consensus had him.

In college · 2018-2020 · 29 games

90 rec, 1,193 yds, 14 TD, 13.3 yds/rec

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

Comps

College career

his college career vs theirs

Jeremy Shockey79%Chris Cooley73%Heath Miller70%

STM Take

Two career tier 2 finishes (#8 in 2021 and #8 in 2024) plus three other top-25 rankings establishes the floor: a consistent TE2/borderline-TE1 producer regardless of the QB. The 2025 step back to tier 5 (#19) tracked the team's offensive issues with Rodgers, not Freiermuth's per-target value. At 28 he is in his prime years and remains the Steelers' most reliable pass-catcher.

Freiermuth came out of Penn State as Pittsburgh's 2nd-round pick (55th overall) in 2021 after a junior season cut short by shoulder surgery. His rookie 2021 produced 60 catches for 497 yards and 7 touchdowns, finishing tier 2 #8. He has spent five seasons in Pittsburgh as the Steelers' primary receiving TE through Ben Roethlisberger's retirement, the Kenny Pickett/Mitch Trubisky/Justin Fields/Russell Wilson rotation, and Aaron Rodgers's 2025 arrival. The 2024 tier 2 #8 finish was the Russell Wilson connection peak; 2025 #19 (tier 5) reflects the broader Steelers offensive struggles around Aaron Rodgers.

Strengths

Two tier 2 finishes (#8 in both 2021 and 2024) across five seasons confirms genuine TE1 production ceiling when the QB room functions. Career 30+ receiving touchdowns across five seasons.
Wks 12 and 17 2025 produced 10.9 and 9.3 PPR. The Penn State football-IQ pedigree plus 6'5"/258 frame give him a defined boundary-TE skill set.

Concerns

Three tier 5-or-worse finishes in five seasons (#22 in 2023, #19 in 2025, tier 8 #119 in 2019) confirms the production depends heavily on QB stability.
Career receiving yards per season trend in the 600-700 range, which caps the tier 2 ceiling unless the offense becomes more TE-centric.

What to watch: Whether the Steelers commit to Aaron Rodgers for 2026 or transition to a younger QB, because Freiermuth's tier 2 ceiling correlates strongly with QB familiarity.