Should I Start Pat Freiermuth?

Friday, August 14, 8:15 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth had a quiet preseason opener in Thursday night's win over the Green Bay Packers, catching his only target for a two-yard gain in the 28-9 victory. Freiermuth didn't do much on offense on a night in which the Steelers rested veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers and top wide receivers DK Metcalf (undisclosed) and Michael Pittman Jr. (leg). His lone reception came near the goal line on a fourth-down pass from backup QB Mason Rudolph. The 27-year-old was a sleeper target at the TE position last year, but he never panned out, catching 41 of his 54 targets for 486 yards and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games in his fifth year in the NFL. Jonnu Smith and pass-catching running back Kenny Gainwell left town in the offseason, but the addition of Pittman to new head coach Mike McCarthy's offense will most likely continue to keep Freiermuth's fantasy ceiling pretty low. With Rodgers running Pittsburgh's offense for one more year, fantasy managers should treat Freiermuth as a low-end TE2 option who is dependent on finding the end zone.