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The Pittsburgh Steelers shocked the world — okay, maybe only Steelers fans — with their selection of tight end Pat Freiermuth at No. 55 overall.
The pick is a head-scratcher. The Steelers aren’t desperate at the tight end position, and using their second pick on one is desperate.
Pittsburgh still has holes, especially along the offensive line, most notably at center. If they don’t address the position at No. 87, that’s a huge concern. B.J. Finney is only a bandaid and not a great one at that.
Sure, there are great aspects of Freiermuth’s game. At 6’5, he’s a giant target that not only Ben Roethlisberger but the future Steelers quarterback will love. Freiermuth’s break physicality continues through his catch, and with 9 7/8-inch hands, that radius is wide.
Freiermuth is a tackle-breaker, especially with the ball in his hands. He’s quick to elude defenders, and the stiff arm is his weapon of choice.
If Freiermuth is inside the 20, he’ll sniff out the end zone and come away with a score.
As a blocker, though, his game needs work. New tight end coach Alfredo Roberts will need to coach Freiermuth up on his blocking. In the air game at Penn State, he was usually used as a pass-catcher and not asked to block much. When blocking in the run game, Freiermuth was often overly aggressive.
What’s scary is Draft Wire‘s Doug Farrar gave a worst-case scenario player comparison of Eric Ebron, citing Freiermuth’s penchant for drops. The best case is Rob Gronkowski, so that eases the blow a bit.
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