Penn State Football tight end Pat Freiermuth officially declared for the 2021 NFL Draft Sunday, and will likely be among the first tight ends chosen
Penn State Football tight end Pat Freiermuth declared Sunday that he would be foregoing his senior season and officially entering the 2021 NFL Draft, where he will most likely be among the first tight ends chosen next spring.
The Big Ten Tight End of The Year, Freiermuth, 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds, is an elite pass catcher with a violent running style in the open field which should set him up for success in the NFL.
"“I’m excited to see Pat chase his professional aspirations,” Penn State Football head coach James Franklin tweeted Sunday. “And I am confident he will succeed in the NFL and whatever else in his future that he sets his mind on.”"
Here’s a look at four teams that are ideal fits for Freiermuth, and could be positioned to choose him in the 2021 NFL Draft:
New York Jets
If the Jets are able to land either Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State’s Justin Fields, the top priority will be surrounding their new franchise quarterback with game-altering playmakers. Freiermuth certainly fits that bill.
In addition to one of the top-five selections, the Jets also own picks No. 31 (from the Seattle Seahawks) and No. 33 overall, so there is a decent chance New York will have two opportunities to take Freiermuth.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars now have the inside track to the No. 1 pick, so the same logic that makes Freiermuth a fit for the Jets also applies to Jacksonville.
Additionally, the Jaguars have a glaring need at tight end, with Tyler Eifert currently the team’s sixth-leading receiver but with only 49 catches for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Jacksonville has an abundant war chest of draft picks, currently projected to choose No. 1 overall, No. 25 overall, No. 34 overall, and No. 47 overall in the first two rounds. So, with that many picks, and tight end being a high end need, Jacksonville may be the most likely team to choose Freiermuth.
New England Patriots
Freiermuth, a Newburyport, Massachusetts native, wears No. 87 in homage to former New England Patriots All-Pro and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski. If there’s any team in the NFL most likely to select Freiermuth in the first-round, it just might be the Patriots.
For the first time this decade, the New England Patriots did not win the AFC East, and it became wholly obvious as the 2020 season wore on that the offense lacked game-breaking talent around quarterback Cam Newton.
Freiermuth’s physical skill-set and elite pass-catching ability are reminiscent of Gronkowski in his prime and is the type of weapon that Bill Belichick could (re)build a scheme around.
The Giants have Evan Engram in place, but have made just a tacit commitment to him moving forward, by picking up his fifth-year option but to date not opening any long-term contract extension talks.
Engram, the Giants’ first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, is in the midst of the most disappointing season of his career, and tight end just might be a position that New York looks to upgrade this offseason.
The Giants could be picking as high as the top-10, but New York’s second round pick could be a sweet spot for Freiermuth to join former Nittany Lion Saquon Barkley in the Big Apple.