Red zone is comfort zone for Steelers' rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth

Pat Freiermuth missed by a year the chance to make money off his name, image and likeness rights in college at Penn State.

The 6-foot-5 tight end is learning quickly, however, about the best way to profit in the NFL. It’s by making big and, at times, difficult catches in the red zone.

The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie second-round pick did a little of each Saturday night, accounting for the team’s only two touchdowns in a 26-20 preseason victory against the Detroit Lions.

In his first appearance in a game at Heinz Field, Freiermuth was on the receiving end of 11-yard and 8-yard touchdown receptions in the first quarter, showing an instant chemistry with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“I like scoring touchdowns,” said Freiermuth, who got most of his 17 snaps with the first-team offense. “I like celebrating with fans. I like celebrating with my teammates.”

For his part, Roethlisberger liked the body of work that Freiermuth provided. In fact, when Roethlisberger began his interview following his first game action of the preseason, he playfully started by trying to make light of Freiermuth’s contributions.

“Let’s not talk about him too much,” Roethlisberger said, laughing. “I like other teams to not know too much about him.”

Too late.

Anyone sitting in the stands or in front of a TV screen was keenly aware of Freiermuth’s capabilities when provided a favorable matchup in coverage. It’s an extension of what Freiermuth did at Penn State. Not only did Freiermuth allegedly never drop a pass in the red zone in three collegiate seasons, his 16 career touchdowns are a school record for a tight end, surpassing Mike Gesicki’s previous mark by one.

“There’s so much detail down there, and I’m sure a detail-oriented guy,” Freiermuth said. “Maybe some person who is great in the open field lacks the detail down there because the field is smaller. I understand coverage more down there, and I understand what I need to do to get open and score touchdowns.”

On the first touchdown, Roethlisberger used a pump fake that bought Freiermuth an extra second to get open. Freiermuth made the outstretched catch in the end zone, positioning himself so Lions safety Tracy Walker had no play on the ball.

On the 8-yard score, Freiermuth got behind safety Will Harris. Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin tried to match step for step, but Freiermuth made the twisting catch in the back of the end zone.

For coach Mike Tomlin, it was a ho-hum moment.

“I don’t think he showed us anything different than he’s shown us throughout every component of this process even dating back to minicamp,” Tomlin said. “He made a very similar play in red-zone work in minicamp, so I don’t think any of us are surprised by what he was able to do tonight.”

Some teammates swear that the next pass Freiermuth drops will be his first since training camp started a month ago. Freiermuth won’t quite go that far.

“I’m sure there’s a couple,” he said smiling, “but not off the top of my head.”

Early in camp, Freiermuth learned he would be required to make the difficult, off-balanced catch with Roethlisberger throwing the passes. Roethlisberger likes to test a new player’s catch radius in practice by throwing passes high and low and in uncomfortable spots.

“The first time in OTAs, he was throwing it all over the place to me, and I was just very confused,” Freiermuth said. “I was like, ‘Am I doing something wrong?’ and (Eric Ebron and Zach Gentry) were like, ‘He does this to see what your range is like.’ So it has helped me a lot in OTAs and training camp. He sees where I can make the adjustments. It’s awesome, and it kind of showed on the field today.”

If all goes according to plan, Roethlisberger hopes to find the same kind of chemistry with Freiermuth that he did with another high-round draft pick from a prior generation.

“He reminds me of another tight end we’ve had here before,” Roethlisberger said.

That, of course, would be Heath Miller, who in 11 seasons became the Steelers’ record-holder in all major receiving categories by a tight end.

“We have watched Heath Miller tape a bit,” Freiermuth said. “I’m trying to make my own legacy here, and Heath was an unbelievable tight end here. Obviously, it’s going to be hard to follow in his footsteps. I’m going to try and emulate his game.”