Moore emphasized that Freiermuth’s fantasy ceiling vanished the moment Jonnu arrived. Pittsburgh plans to lean on heavy 12 personnel, meaning Freiermuth will share routes and red-zone looks with Smith while seeing overall passing volume suppressed under Arthur Smith’s scheme. Because neither tight end is likely to command more than a 12–14 % target share, Moore believes weekly predictability is impossible and labeled Freiermuth a ‘delete button’ in drafts despite his previous path to being the Steelers’ second option behind DK Metcalf.

Greg Brainos called Pat Freiermuth the perfect "steady-Eddie" for three-tight-end best-ball builds. Freiermuth is sliding into the TE20-range despite Pittsburgh finally boasting competent quarterback play after adding Justin Fields to push Russell Wilson. Brainos expects Arthur Smith’s heavy play-action scheme—one that ranked top-10 in tight-end target rate during his Atlanta tenure—to funnel 5-6 looks a week to Freiermuth. He reminded listeners that in the four games Freiermuth played at least 70% of snaps last year he averaged 19.0% of team targets and 1.91 yards per route, both top-eight numbers at the position. With Smith confirming he will keep two-tight-end sets and a red-zone package built around his 6'5" security blanket, Brainos thinks Freiermuth offers a bankable weekly floor with the occasional multi-TD spike that wins advance rates.

Pete Overzet said Pat Freiermuth is the best way to play the newly-revamped Steelers passing attack in best ball. His reasoning: (1) Aaron Rodgers has a long track record of leaning on tight ends when his wide-receiver room is thin, citing years where Jermichael Finley and even Richard Rodgers popped for 7-plus TDs. (2) Pittsburgh’s current WR2 battle is between undersized Calvin Austin and raw rookie Roman Wilson, so Rodgers may funnel throws inside. (3) Freiermuth’s ADP is still in the late double-digit rounds, making him a cheap correlation play with Rodgers compared to paying a mid-4th-round price for the offense’s brand-name options. Overzet expects a steady target share, red-zone usage, and spike-week potential that pays off his low cost.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound warned drafters to stay away from Pat Freiermuth until the Jonnu Smith situation is resolved. He reiterated that multiple reports have linked Smith to Pittsburgh, and if that deal happens Freiermuth would slide into a two-tight-end rotation on a team that already ranks bottom-three in tight-end target share. Pat said, “you can’t click Pat Fry right now,” because Jonnu would siphon routes between the twenties and poach red-zone work, turning Freiermuth into a touchdown-or-bust play with a low target floor—exactly the profile that gets buried in Underdog’s single-week playoff rounds. Until the trade rumors die, Pat is passing on Freiermuth entirely.

Billy Jones highlighted Pat Freiermuth’s 10-pick ADP rise as a signal that late-round tight-end drafters are finally catching on. He likes Freiermuth specifically in three-TE builds, projecting several weeks of 5-for-55 and a touchdown— the exact profile that pops in best-ball spike-week formats. With George Pickens potentially leaving town and Justin Fields favoring tight ends, Billy sees room for additional target share and called Freiermuth an ideal Round-12 safety valve when the wide-receiver pool dries up.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said Pat Freiermuth is still too cheap in BBM6 drafts now that George Pickens trade rumors are swirling. He expects any Pickens departure—or even the threat of it—to consolidate intermediate targets around Freiermuth, who already owns a 22% red-zone target rate over the last two seasons. Pat pointed out that Pittsburgh’s depth chart behind Freiermuth is replacement-level (Darnell Washington averaged just 0.62 yards per route) and the Steelers appear willing to roll into Week 1 with Mason Rudolph and rookie Will Howard. That combination likely means a conservative, run-heavy approach that funnels 5-to-7 dump-offs per game to the tight end. Pat anticipates a career-high 90–95 targets and thinks Freiermuth’s ADP will settle in the late-120s once the market realizes he could lead the team in receptions.

Davis Mattek warned drafters not to chase Pat Freiermuth into Round 10 after the Metcalf trade jolted Pittsburgh hype. Mattek said he "can’t get the image out of my head" of Freiermuth catching the ball and immediately getting blown up—his 2.6 yards after catch per reception ranked 33rd among 35 qualified tight ends last year. Pittsburgh still projects bottom-five in pass attempts under Mike Tomlin unless Aaron Rodgers somehow arrives, and Mattek doubts Rodgers would funnel targets to a plodding tight end with zero separation skills. He would rather click Jake Ferguson two rounds later or punt the position entirely than buy into a Steeler passing game that remains "slow, brutal, run-heavy."