While Logan Thomas had a strong breakout campaign for Washington last season, the team has very little depth behind him at the tight end position. They’ve yet to add a tight end of significance this offseason and will likely need to look to the draft to do so at this point. Kyle Pitts is the consensus top tight end in this draft class, but will likely be gone inside the top 10 picks. After Pitts there’s a drop off, but Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth is most draft analyst's next best tight end. So what does Freiermuth bring to the table and could he fit with Washington? Let’s take a closer look.
The thing that stands out most to me when watching Freiermuth is how friendly of a target he is for the quarterback. Obviously, his 6-foot-5, 251 pound frame is a big target and while there’s far more to him than just his size, it certainly enables him to pull off some tough contested catches.
This play comes from Freiermuth’s 2019 season. Down near the goal line, Freiermuth is the isolated tight end on the left of the formation. He runs a quick post route, using a clever lean into the defender to allow him to get away with pushing off as he breaks inside. The quarterback is weary of the free safety in the middle of the field, so tries to put this ball on Freiermuth. However, the throw ends up being slightly behind him as well as being thrown directly over the referee. Freiermuth has to turn, locate the ball and adjust to the path while not being distracted by the referee’s position, all in a fraction of a second. But he makes the necessary adjustment and catches the ball, turning in the air to do so. As he’s on his way down, he holds the ball off from the defender in coverage while taking a hit from the free safety. Despite all that, Freiermuth holds on and sets his team up with a first and goal from the one.
That kind of toughness and ability to adjust to throws will quickly endear Freiermuth to whatever quarterback is throwing him the ball. He’s such a reliable target that will adjust to whatever throw comes at him.
On this play, Freiermuth aligns in the slot to the left. He runs a pivot out, meaning he gets to five yards, shows a fake break inside before pivoting outside into the flat. He separates from the inside defender with his route, but the outside cornerback peels off as part of a trap coverage. Still, the quarterback trusts Freiermuth to make any contested catch and pulls the trigger. However, the ball gets tipped by a defender at the line of scrimmage. That causes the ball to bobble up in the air and delay it from arriving at its intended target. The outside cornerback doesn’t see the tip and instead breaks on the throw, arriving at and hitting Freiermuth as quickly as he could to try and prevent the completion, but because of the tipped pass, he arrives early. Somehow, Freiermuth is able to withstand the contact and hold his ground as he waits for the ball to arrive. The ball eventually gets there and Freiermuth is able to secure the catch with a defender draped all over him before going down.
His catching ability enables him to make up for mistakes, both from the quarterback and from himself.
Here, Freiermuth aligns in the slot to the left as part of a trips set to that side. He runs a simple stick route, breaking off at five yards with the ability to sit the route down or continue working outside depending on the coverage. On this occasion, Freiermuth and the quarterback are on the wrong page. Freiermuth breaks off his route and sits down while the quarterback throws more outside, expecting him to continue outside. But Freiermuth is able to make them both right, sticking out his right hand and making a strong one-handed catch to pull in the pass and turn up the field for additional yards.
Freiermuth is great at making himself available for the quarterback and catching everything thrown his way, regardless of the placement of the throw. That’s a valuable trait to have, especially at the tight end spot that traditionally works over the middle into traffic where throwing windows are tighter and more defenders are in position to contest catches and land big hits. But there’s more to Freiermuth’s game than just that. While he’s not an explosive route runner, he’s a savvy one. He understands leverage and how to set up routes and has enough quickness to create separation when he attacks the leverage of the defender.
We’ve already seen Freiermuth run a few different variations of stick routes, which was very common for him at Penn State. On this occasion we see the counterpunch, known as stick-nod. He sets up his route to look exactly like his other stick routes, chopping his feet and sinking his hips at five yards to sell the break outside. He even begins to turn his shoulders and head back to the quarterback to fully sell the route. This gets the defender to bite up assuming it’s another stick route. However, as the defender bites up, Freiermuth suddenly bursts by him up the seam. The quarterback hits him up the seam in front of the deep safety for a nice gain and a first down.
Freiermuth’s route running is solid and the fakes he sells are good. It’s a nice trait to have to sell double moves, but also in the play-action and run-pass option game.
Here, Penn State is down near the goal line with Freiermuth aligned as the second tight end in a three tight end set. The play call asks Freiermuth to sell a fake block before bursting into the end zone as the primary passing option. Freiermuth does an excellent job with his run fake, engaging with the defender. The defender anticipates Freiermuth trying to force him down the line, so begins to shift his weight to try and lean into the block while holding his gap. However, Freiermuth quickly disengages, getting his hands off the defender as soon as he leans in. By ripping his hands away, the defender is pulled off balance and falls over while Freiermuth bursts into the end zone wide open. That gives the quarterback an easy throw for a touchdown.
Freiermuth has a habit of making himself available to the quarterback, be it through route running, play fakes or adjustments to differently placed throws. Those are all traits that will make him a quarterback’s best friend and enable him to be trusted early on in his NFL career. However, there’s more to being a tight end than just being a good receiver. Freiermuth has the frame to develop into a traditional Y tight end as well as being able to move around and line up outside or in the slot. However, his run blocking needs work if he’s to truly develop into a Y tight end that can be trusted in the run game as well as passing game.
He’s an inconsistent blocker that struggles with technique at times, which highlights his inconsistency on plays when he’s asked to do the same assignment.
Here’s an example of a block that Penn State schemed up to be very manageable for Freiermuth. He starts in the slot to the left but motions across the formation. The ball is snapped as he runs in motion, allowing him to use his momentum gained from the motion to help him with his block. He’s tasked with kicking out the edge defender to the left of the formation. His technique isn’t great, dropping his head and hands as he reaches his target, relying purely on his momentum to kick out the defender. On this occasion, he does manage to execute the block, kicking out the defender and creating a hole of the running back.
However, later in the same game, Freiermuth was tasked with the exact same assignment.
This is the exact same play from Freiermuth’s perspective. He aligns to the right before motioning across the formation to block the edge defender to the left. However, having seen this play before, the edge defender recognizes the motion and anticipates the block. He plays it more aggressively, crashing inside instead of waiting for Freiermuth to come to him. Freiermuth attempts the same technique, dropping his head and hands as he tries to just use his frame and momentum to kick out the defender. But the defender knows the block is coming and as soon as Freiermuth drops his head, the defender adjusts his path without Freiermuth being able to see him. That allows the defender to work around the block untouched and make the tackle for a loss in the backfield.
At this point in his career, Freiermuth doesn’t offer enough as a blocker to be trusted as a true Y tight end. His receiving ability is what is most desirable at this point with the hope he can be developed as a run blocker down the line. But that receiving ability is certainly valuable. His route running and ball skills will make him a favorite target of whatever quarterback is throwing the ball, which should mean he’s able to contribute early in his career.
From Washington’s perspective, Freiermuth isn’t too dissimilar from Logan Thomas. Both are raw from a blocking perspective, but Freiermuth is perhaps a little more polished as a receiver than Thomas. Neither is a true Y tight end but neither is a Jordan Reed type receiving tight end either. They’re both in between, which could be used to Washington’s advantage with the formations and motions Scott Turner likes to use to create mismatches. Washington certainly needs a second tight end and Freiermuth could be a solid option if he’s still on the board in the second round.
You nailed as usual Mark. Pat will not be your end of line blocking TE but he could be the serious weapon because of his hands and ability to control his body while making catches.