Tight ends: Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington, Connor Heyward, J.J. Galbreath, Donald Parham, Jr.
A playmaking group of tight ends entered the 2025 season with sparkling numbers and the hope of adding punch to the Steelers' offense. It was the largest of those tight ends who drew the loudest raves.
Darnell Washington, in his third season, became known for much more than his ballyhooed blocking. The 6-foot-7 battleship became a terror with the ball in his hands.
That became evident to the football world Nov. 16 in the rematch against the Bengals, when Washington caught 4 passes for a career-high 67 yards. It was the way he gained those yards that made him a YouTube sensation.
Highlight 1: Washington flared left off the line to catch a short flare from Aaron Rodgers. He barely turned upfield and stiff-armed Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter to the ground. Washington then lowered his shoulder on safety Geno Stone and sent him flying. Still chugging, Washington eyed cornerback D.J. Turner near the sideline, lowered his head and shoulder, and threw a stiff-arm, to send Turner flying to the ground. Washington went out of bounds with a 31-yard gain to set up Chris Boswell's field goal.
Highlight 2: Mason Rudolph replaced an injured Rodgers at quarterback and threw a short pass to Washington on third-and-17. He again knocked over Stone, and willed his way 17 yards past a second Bengals DB for the first down. It led to another field goal in the 34-12 win.
"The play with the catch and run," said Rodgers, "the awareness level that he had to know 'I got a guy close to me, I'm going to catch this and I'm going to turn, then I'm going to stiff-arm this guy.' And he's faster than people probably think, because he's so tremendously large, and he's also shifty. Third-and-17, to drop it off on a checkdown and have him make a guy miss and then kind of fall forward and get a first down; that's not what you expect. But those are game-changing plays, and he's consistently, most of the season, made those plays."
Washington finished his third season with 31 catches for 364 yards and a touchdown. His 16 first downs were fourth on the team, and his 31 catches bettered his previous two seasons combined by five. His 364 yards bettered his career total by 103.
"They're getting scared of him, for sure. They should be," Rodgers said. "He's a mammoth, but he jumped over a guy, he stiff-armed a guy to the ground, ran a guy over, made another guy miss a tackle, then he had a block where he knocked two guys down. I'm just so proud of him, just his approach, and really the growth I've seen since training camp as he's continued to get his body in shape, get his mind in shape. He's a guy you don't worry about the details at all."
"He's one of the hardest working guys," said Rudolph. "Takes care of his body. Big-time studier. He's hungry.
"Really,we've got such a deep tight end room from Pat to Jonnu to Connor doing the quarterback sneak deal like he's done. But, yeah, Darnell adds a different element to it."
Washington was third among Steelers tight ends in catches behind Freiermuth (41) and Smith (38). Freiermuth compiled a career-high 11.9 yards per catch, and had his longest career catch, a 68-yarder against the Bengals.
Freiermuth was particularly clutch in the season-finale against the Ravens when he caught 3 passes for 51 yards, a couple on critical third downs. The first was a 14-yard catch on third-and-10 play in the third quarter. The Steelers finished the drive with the tying touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, on third-and-8, Rodgers found Freiermuth down the seam for a 31-yard gain to the Baltimore 5 that set up another go-ahead touchdown.
"I have a lot of respect for Pat, first and foremost, the way he's handled himself this entire season," said Rodgers. "With the emergence of Darnell and the big personnel that we've used, (Freiermuth) hasn't had as many snaps as he's used to or would've wanted. Not one time this entire year – and he's my locker mate so I can say this with absolute confidence and 100% honesty – not one time did I hear him complain about his snap count, about anything. There is a lot to be said for that."
Smith made his presence felt as a receiver, of course, but also as a runner. Smith matched his career high this season with 9 carries for 70 yards. His 14-yard touchdown helped beat the Dolphins.
The 2024 Pro Bowler will turn 31 in August as Smith prepares for his 10th NFL season.
Speaking of a tight end's rushing attempts, Heyward, in what the Steelers call their "Spartan" short-yardage alignment, lined up under center 16 times. The Steelers converted first downs 13 times. One of the misses, on third down, was converted on fourth down.
Overall, Heyward ran 15 times for 43 yards on 2 touchdowns. His 29-yard run around right end against Cleveland was Heyward's longest run since his freshman season at Michigan State.
Heyward also opened holes as a lead-blocking fullback. He can enter his fifth season as a free agent on March 11.
Also with the Steelers is J.J. Galbreath, who impressed over the summer with soft hands and athleticism. The rookie out of South Dakota – where he caught 93 career passes for 1,355 yards and 12 touchdowns – made the Steelers' practice squad and was signed to a futures contract last month.
Donald Parham, Jr., at 6-8 1/2, 237, is another massive tight end. He tore an Achilles' tendon in OTAs and missed the season. A potential free agent in March, Parham will turn 29 in August.
