Raiders Week 6 Preview: Pat Freiermuth can cause problems for the Raiders defense

Although Pat Freiermuth isn't the biggest name on the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense, he is a quality tight end who can cause problems on defense for the Las Vegas Raiders in the Raiders' Week 6 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Last season, Freiermuth gave Las Vegas some problems, catching three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. In 2024, he served as a security blanket for quarterback Justin Fields, catching 20 of 22 targets for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the team's first five games of the season, according to Pro Football Focus.

So let’s take a look at the tape and see how the Steelers like to use their tight end.

While this isn't a revolutionary plan, the Steelers like to run play-action bootlegs and have Freiermuth run drag routes from various alignments.

Here they put him in motion pre-snap to get a coverage indicator and figure out that the Broncos are in zone coverage while he moves back to the slot receiver spot he started at, just with a more reduced split or closer to the offensive line.

Freiermuth is good at finding the open areas of the field, and this is an example of him adjusting his route to create some space between the linebackers and give Fields a larger throwing window. This allows Fields to throw the ball into the bucket inside the five-yard line for a first down.

Another impressive aspect of the tight end's game is that he is difficult to beat and fights for every yard. On this play, he is the checkdown option and catches the ball right at the line of scrimmage, but recovers seven yards after contact to give the Steelers a second-and-close situation.

Three defenders had to bring him down, including a defensive lineman.

This repetition is a kind of combination of the last two.

Freiermuth does a good job of finding open space during the scramble drill and then forces a few missed tackles after the catch. That turns a play that almost resembled a sack into a gain of about 30 yards.

Plays like these are particularly worrisome for the Raiders as defenses have collectively struggled to tackle them this season. Pro Football Focus has Las Vegas struggling with 66 missed shots in five games.

This is a nice play design from Pittsburgh, running double outs with the two slot receivers at the bottom of the screen. This creates a natural choice as #19 runs into the nickel corner to help Freiermuth get to the end zone.

Additionally, Freiermuth settles in the hole against zone coverage and has a knack for rotating the field to get north and south with the ball in his hands. Not only does this allow him to battle through contact, but it also allows him to put points on the board.

Here we see a nice route from the tight end against a defensive back.

Freiermuth does two things on this route that stand out. First, he attacks the defender's leverage to give himself a two-way attack and avoid changing the direction he's going. Second, he uses his size advantage and his hands at the top of the route to create separation and give the quarterback plenty of room to throw.

Even after the catch, this man refuses to be tackled and fights with defenders for every single yard.

We'll close with some creative playmaking that Las Vegas needs to be prepared for in the red zone or near the goal line.

There's a lot going on here. Pittsburgh has a quarterback counter that the defense will have to respect given Fields' rushing abilities. Additionally, it looks like Fields has the opportunity here to throw the halfback screen while reading the middle linebacker. As the linebacker mirrors or flows with his back, the quarterback throws the ball to the tight end, who pulled for the counteraction.

So this is essentially a three-way option as Fields can keep the ball and also run, giving the defense headaches. And yes, the left tackle should be ruled too far down the field, but it wouldn't be surprising if the Steelers cleaned that up, and relying on the refs to make a decision is a risky proposition.

As for Freiermuth's contributions to this replay, play calling is the primary factor here, but we see another example of how his ability to get north and south can help put points on the board.