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The Pittsburgh Steelers bid farewell to Ben Roethlisberger this offseason, as the 18-year franchise quarterback announced his retirement in January. For Pat Freiermuth, who established a rapport with the veteran QB, it’s going to be interesting to see if his success from the 2021-22 NFL season continues with Mitch Trubisky under center.
2021 season statistics & fantasy finish
Freiermuth pieced together a quality rookie campaign — 60 catches on 79 targets for 497 yards and seven touchdowns — and averaged 5.7 fantasy points per game.
Pittsburgh Steelers offseason moves
Among the Steelers’ considerable offseason moves: They made DB Minkah Fitzpatrick the highest-paid safety in the NFL, Trubisky became their expected starting quarterback after spending four years as the Chicago Bears starting quarterback and backup to Josh Allen for the Buffalo Bills, and they drafted Kenny Pickett with the No. 20 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, who could be instilled as the team’s future franchise quarterback.
2022 best case scenario
The best case scenario for Freiermuth is that he remains the go-to weapon in the red zone.. That part is key. Most of his fantasy football relevance last season was due to his reliability to score touchdowns.
2022 worst case scenario
With a new name under center, it’s hard to figure just how the tight-end position will be impacted. Trubisky was never totally keen on throwing to his tight end when he was playing in Chicago, so we’ll see if he’s fixed that with experience.
2022 prediction
Freiermuth is pegged as the overall TE12 in half-PPR formats. Though it’s early, he is about to enter a pivotal season in his career. We’ll soon find out if his rookie performances were a fluke, or if he’s to remain Pittsburgh’s primary red-zone target. If he’s at full health to start the year, there’s no good reason why he can’t make the next big step in his development.