Steelers should roll with, not trade, Freiermuth

A lot of NFL trade rumors grow teeth when the trade deadline approaches. This year, the deadline is November 4. One of the most heavily-pushed narratives surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers has been that the team should consider turning tight end Pat Freiermuth into a bargaining chip due to, what many have pointed out, is less usage. After six games, rolling with Freiermuth makes much more sense than a trade.

Living large in 13 personnel

Most of the trade chatter around Freiermuth began after he was utilized much less early this season than he had in the past. The impetus was placed on insisting the Steelers would be better off trading a guy they just extended a contract extension to in 2024 who wasn’t “performing” in favor of a bigger-name wide receiver.

The Steelers, though, have found themselves an offensive identity: living large in 13 personnel.

For those unfamiliar with personnel packages, “13 personnel” is the usage of a lineup with a single offensive back, one wide receiver, and three tight ends. The package, or grouping, creates the look of the run while providing extra blocking and options for throws.

Against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers offense thrived in this personnel package; Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington, and Freiermuth were the tight ends utilized most often. The result of utilizing 13 personnel was four offensive touchdowns – all to tight ends!

Steelers don’t need a new WR

While the lure of a flashy new receiver addition is strong, trading for one would likely be counterproductive to what is working the way that it should in Pittsburgh: Arthur Smith’s offensive scheme.

We covered that in some depth previously:

• Why would Steelers trade for WR instead of 2240629073 current receivers more?

In the current scheme, there are plenty of opportunities for WR1 D.K. Metcalf, which keeps his production steady… and D.K. happy (presumably). There are still opportunities for receivers already on the roster to get targets and push the ball downfield, which spreads the responsibility of executing to each member of the group.

For the first season in a while there are no rumblings coming out about receivers feeling like they aren’t being utilized, unlike nearly every season George Pickens didn’t get the majority of passes in a game – and he wasn’t the only WR in the Steelers past who aired a similar grievance.

Ball distribution has been spread around

When the Steelers brought in Smith as offensive coordinator, the talk was how he enjoyed using tight ends. Last season, fans and analysts wondered when he was actually going to utilize TE-heavy sets, as promised. Well, he has this season, and look how it has worked.

Aaron Rodgers likes having multiple options and, as the Steelers’ quarterback this season, he has been distributing the ball to multiple targets. In the game against the Bengals, he targeted four tight ends, three receivers, and two running backs in the passing game. Had he not thrown two uncharacteristic interceptions and the defense not broken down, the Steelers’ 31 offensive points likely would have been enough to win the game.

NFL NextGen Stats offers a great illustration of how Rodgers has distributed his passes. He has focused on high-success passes while looking for lower-risk opportunities deep.