Pat Freiermuth’s 2025 Season Was Better Than It Looked
Freiermuth’s 2025 stat line did not give us much reasons to get excited.
He finished with 41 receptions for 486 yards and four touchdowns on 54 targets, leaving him outside the top 20 tight ends and with a negative WAR. For a player who had already shown the ability to command a meaningful role in Pittsburgh’s passing game, it looked like another season of stalled development.
But the box score does not tell the full story.
Freiermuth did not struggle because his play declined. He struggled because Pittsburgh rarely gave him enough opportunities to matter.
When the ball came his way, he remained one of the more efficient tight ends in football.
Freiermuth caught 75.9% of his targets and averaged 6.2 yards after the catch, a mark that ranked in the 99th percentile at the position. His 1.48 yards per route run also showed that he was still producing at a respectable rate whenever he was involved in the passing game.
The rest of his efficiency profile was equally encouraging. He ranked in the 80th percentile in target share, the 83rd percentile in receiving yards, the 80th percentile in WOPR, the 82nd percentile in yards after the catch per reception and the 87th percentile in receiving value.
Those numbers do not describe a player who suddenly lost a step.
They describe a productive receiver trapped in a limited role.
The Problem Was Opportunity
Freiermuth’s disappointing fantasy finish can largely be traced back to how Pittsburgh divided its tight end usage.
Arthur Smith leaned heavily on multiple tight end personnel and spread opportunities across the entire room. Jonnu Smith nearly matched Freiermuth in targets, while Darnell Washington remained involved as a blocker and rotational player.