Despite investing significant financial and draft resources into tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy’s offense has relied heavily on three-wide-receiver sets through two weeks.
Heading into a crucial Week 3 AFC North clash against the Cincinnati Bengals, data suggests Pittsburgh must pivot to more tight end-heavy packages to unlock its sluggish passing attack.
Combined, Pittsburgh ranks 18th in the NFL in multi-tight-end usage (12 and 13 personnel). This scheme is puzzling, given the roster construction and Freiermuth’s historical dominance against Cincinnati. Four of Freiermuth’s top five career receiving games have come against the Bengals. Furthermore, Cincinnati's defense recently
surrendered significant production to tight ends against Houston.
On the latest “Locked on Steelers” crossover episode, host Christopher Carter questioned why Pittsburgh isn't utilizing its multi-tight-end assets more frequently:
"Something that I'm going to talk about more on my Friday episode is the Steelers need to be using more tight end heavy sets. They are not when I looked at it. I looked on True Media and I saw combined 12 and 13 personnel sets. The Steelers ranked 18th in using these extra tight end sets. And that's so bizarre to me when you pay Pat Freiermuth and you pay Darnell Washington and you don't exactly have killer wide receivers."
“Locked on Bengals” guest host Joe Goodberry acknowledged Cincinnati's defense fears Washington’s raw physicality.
"I gotta be honest, we're scared of Darnell Washington. That guy has stiff armed some of our guys six feet under and just trucks people. The Bengals gave up a lot of yards and catches to Dalton Schultz last week. We don't feel very confident that this team can cover tight end. So, that may be the route to go."
Leaning into 12 personnel presents Pittsburgh with its most straightforward path to stabilizing the offense and creating favorable matchups in Week 3.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Why Pat Freiermuth is Pittsburgh's secret weapon in Week 3
