Pat Freiermuth is going into his fourth season working with Darnell Washington, and the veteran couldn’t be prouder. Washington, a 2023 third-round pick, has grown steadily each season, blossoming under former OC Arthur Smith. It’s not clear what the shift to Mike McCarthy’s offense will mean for him, but Freiermuth knows he’s ready.
And he knows that they work well as a duo. Arguably better than as a trio, as the Steelers tried with Jonnu Smith last year. “I think me and Darnell [Washington] play really well off each other”, Freiermuth said via the Steelers’ website. “He picks up for me what I kind of lack in and vice versa”.
Pat Freiermuth is now in his seventh season as a 2020 second-round draft pick. Coming off a disappointing season in which the Steelers underutilized him, he is optimistic about returning to a more balanced role under McCarthy. And in a more complementary setup with Washington, who has certain advantages he doesn’t.
“You guys can tell” what those things are, Freiermuth said with a laugh about the much larger Washington. “But we play well off each other, and I’m just excited to keep working with him. Just seeing his growth as a football player, but most importantly as a man off the field, I’m just super proud of him. Just can’t say enough good things about him. He really means a lot to me”.
Freiermuth finished the 2025 season with 41 catches for 486 yards and 4 touchdowns, Washington with 31 for 364 and 1. It was a career year for Washington as a receiver, but a down year for Freiermuth. For Darnell Washington, though, he played a much bigger role generally, doing the dirty work as a blocker.
The problem arose chiefly from the deployment of Jonnu Smith, who soaked up many of the snaps that had previously gone to Pat Freiermuth. And the real problem was that Smith didn’t produce in that role. On the same number of targets, he caught just 38 passes for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns. This far out, it’s hard to recall that he even found the end zone.
Former Steelers OC Arthur Smith centered his offense around the tight end position, so everybody assumed that the trio of Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Jonnu Smith would thrive. It turned out to be a too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen situation, now resolved by releasing Smith. But will Mike McCarthy’s offense feature Washington in nearly the same capacity as Smith’s did?
Washington is entering a contract year, so he certainly hopes so. Especially if the Steelers don’t agree to a long-term extension with him before the start of the year. Given the number of extension candidates on deck, it’s certainly plausible that he misses out. And perhaps the front office wants to wait and see first what Washington would look like in this new offense.