Penn State Football draftees’ chances of making NFL Rosters
By Evan Smith
Pat Freiermuth — 2nd Round Pick (55th overall), Pittsburgh Steelers
Assuming Freiermuth makes a strong recovery from his shoulder injury, this was a great pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Pittsburgh does have Eric Ebron on the roster (56 catches last year on 91 targets, with 558 yards and 5 touchdowns), Freiermuth will have an opportunity to learn from a seasoned veteran while bringing his own skills to the NFL game.
Freiermuth have no issue route-running, but will have to adjust to the blocking duties of an NFL tight end.
Even if he doesn’t start, there are many two tight end sets and he’ll see plenty of action (and could make for a great late round fantasy pick). Given that the Steelers chose Najee Harris in the first-round and Freiermuth in the second, it is obvious that Pittsburgh is trying to salvage quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and make one more run at the postseason with the veteran quarterback.
Given Roethlisberger’s struggles pushing the ball vertically down the stretch in 2020, figure on Freiermuth potentially being a high-volume target in the Steelers’ offense, particularly over the middle and down the seam on intermediate routes.