Pat Freiermuth — 2026 Fantasy Outlook

Freiermuth had his best statistical season in 2022, setting career highs in catches (63), receiving yards (732), and targets (98) despite a missed game and zero-catch performances in Weeks 15 and 18. His yards per catch climbed to 11.6 (up 3.3 yards from 2021), and he recorded seven or more catches in four games. His inconsistency was still a theme, however, highlighted by six or fewer targets in eight matchups.

His 2023 season was largely a washout. He managed just eight catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns on 13 targets through his first four games before a hamstring injury sidelined him for six weeks. He returned with little fanfare before exploding for nine catches and 120 yards in Week 12, only to go quiet again over his final six regular-season games (14 catches for 128 yards on 22 targets). His second-best output of the entire year came in the playoffs with five catches for 76 yards.

Freiermuth scored below 10.00 PPR fantasy points in eight of his first 11 games in 2024 before Pittsburgh leaned on him more heavily down the stretch, giving him at least three catches and a touchdown in five of his final six contests. He set a new career high in catches (65) and ranked ninth among tight ends in PPR scoring with 170.30 fantasy points, a quietly solid finish despite averaging only 4.6 targets per game throughout the year.

Despite leading the Steelers in tight end production (41/486/4 on 54 targets), Pittsburgh only had Freiermuth on the field for 51.6% of their snaps last year. He had one impact game (Week 7 – 5/111/2) against the Bengals (worst tight end defense). In his remaining 16 games, Freiermuth gained over 35 yards in only three other matchups (3/45, 3/63, and 3/51) while adding two more scores in 2025.