Pat Freiermuth NFL Draft 2021: Scouting Report for Pittsburgh Steelers TE

HEIGHT: 6'5"

WEIGHT: 251

POSITIVES

—True Y TE size.

—Adequate athlete for his size. Shows good body control and catching range when adjusting for throws. Had to adjust to quite a bit because of erratic QB play he had in college.

—Good, natural hands. Doesn't fight the ball.

—Gives good effort with his play and plays with a competitive edge. 

—Above-average overall route-runner. Knows how to be QB-friendly in sitting in zones and on his route breaks versus man. 

—Plays with toughness. Willing to work over the middle and bounces up after hits. 

NEGATIVES

—Just average length. 

—Still a work in progress with blocking. Gives effort but lacks the ability to sustain and ends up on the ground a lot because of just average play strength and arm length. Gets caught leaning, and his technique doesn't compensate for his lack of overwhelming athleticism.

—Doesn't consistently create yards after the catch. Not a stiff but goes down easily.

2020 STATISTICS

4 G, 23 rec., 310 yards, 13.5 avg., 1 TD

NOTES

—2020 first-team All-Big Ten

—2020 Big Ten TE of the Year

—2018 Freshman All-American

OVERALL

Pat Freiermuth is an adequate athlete with the size to play Y TE and in-line at the next level. Freiermuth shows body control and balance on his routes, is an above-average overall route-runner, and has a good understanding of route intent and how to stay friendly to the QB on his route breaks and turns. Freiermuth plays with toughness and gives good effort in the run game, but his lack of length and play strength will crop up.

He will give good initial contact but will end up on the ground a lot and will need to work on technique and how to work with leverage to overcome the arm length and athletic deficiencies he does have.

Overall, Freiermuth projects as a contributing TE who will be a QB's best friend because of his feel versus zone and flashes of good contested catch ability, he will be pigeonholed as a Y TE because of his size and the fact he lined up in-line in college, but he will still be a big work in progress to become more of a consistent blocker. 

GRADE: 7.7/10 (Potential NFL Starter, 2nd-3rd round)

OVERALL RANK: 71/300

POSITION RANK: TE2

PRO COMPARISON: Maxx Williams

Written by B/R NFL Scout Nate Tice