TE how good can they be

i know Muth is a pretty good pass catcher. Gentry is in his final year with us. he has had mixed reviews. a better blocker than pass catcher but has caught a few. not much after the catch though. then we have a guy like rader, who i think can be a mix. he does block pretty well. he can catch and reports are has been working hard on that part of his game. we picked up jace sternberger, who had been with the packers. he was decent in college. then we drafted heyward who's position isn't real clear yet. we also have watt which isn't a TE but does this FB position affect how many we keep at the TE spot? then, will this position change with ben gone?

how do you all feel this will play out and will gentry be extended beyond this year? who's kept? who's used? who goes? with new QB's, this position can be a big part of the offense for them. will it be?

 

Keeping in mind Muth was a rookie last year

If he put in the off-season work Bruener did after his rookie campaign he could be a good blocker

He seems like he could have the right attitude to improve

He’s up 7 pounds from draft prospect so let’s hope that’s not all Twinkies

He’s currently bigger than Bruener height and weight

Gentry is an ok number 2

Watt is ST

Heyward is a novelty who will mostly play ST his rookie year

 

The Steelers 'typically' are 3WR offense.
Pat Freiermuth should be fine in the single TE sets.
On double TE sets, it gets a little dicey.
Gentry is a big TE and probably can slip out in to the flat on the occasion. I have a little issue with a 6'8" guy not having a TD.
If he can catch at all, you use him around the goal.

It is also about the QB's.
TE's are the QB's best friend. If Mitch wants to stabilize his career, he better find his TE's.

 

does this offensive dynamic change though without ben guiding it? if najee is the focal point, how does it affect the usage of our TE's? is muth a good enough blocker or do we show our hand with gentry put in the game? after all i don't see him deep down the seam anytime soon. muth right now seems like more of a 4th wr if he doesn't start to dominate as a blocker. i think this position will make or break this offense. this really isn't a strong point of the offense as it sits now. could it be? maybe. we seem to be hoping for a big increase from muth at this point. big question marks right now for this offense. what will drive it? najee? WRs? can the TE spot deliver enough to make the run work or can they be a bigger part of the offense to actually help our QBs? i think the importance of this position without ben will define how this offense operates.

 

I like our TE's alot. If used properly they can be very effective. THEY MUST BE ABLE TO RUN BLOCK! Rader is a very capable blocker, Don't forget Cam's little brother will be thrown in the mix also.

 

I don't think Heyward makes the 53. Muth will be a good one. I think Rader will be here a while as well.

 

yea there aren't too many 6-0 tall TEs in the game.

 

Freiermuth is a star in the making. Gentry is a solid blocker and has height which could be a mismatch in the Acrisure red zone. After that the bar lowers. Maybe they pick up a vet after camp cuts.

Radar. Wasn't he on MASH?

Heyward will be on the practice squad.

 

ben guiding the offense? I think it’s safe to say Ben hindered the offense more than anything else the last couple years. Will we have a gronkoski/Hernandez-esque usage of the te? Absolutely not. Those two guys were the anomaly not the norm. We should see a better usage of the middle of the field now. That in and of itself changes how our te’s are used in 2022

 

rader is actually a good blocker. my trouble is has muth made enough strides in his blocking to be the guy? we know he can get downfield and make catches. gentry isn't much in the middle of the field to scare offenses, so if he's in the game are we telling them we are running? which one can be that duel threat to back the safeties off? now sternberger in college wasn't much at kansas but when he transfered to texas a&m he had 48 catches for 832 yards and 10 TDs. 17.3 yards per catch average. at green bay he had 12 catches for 114 yards and a TD. he can block too. could he supplant gentry and rader? is gentry as i said in his final year here too one dimensional to keep? i know he caught a few last year but that was in the ben short ball offense.

 

i get that but are our TE's good enough, or well rounded enough to make najee all he can be and back off the safeties. that's pretty much what this thread is about. are any of them complete enough to do the job? we have a mix of blockers and then we have the pass catchers. who makes it go? if muth doesn't improve in the blocking area does it make us predictable again?

 

Myth’s abilities or lack there of didn’t make us predictable. Ben’s diminshed skill set and to an extent the revolving door that was our offensive line made us predictable. Remember we were just as predictable the year before with different tight ends and offensive line.

 

Muth should improve this year I think he can become a solid TE. The rest of them are unproven at best.

 

I think Muth has the “want to” to at least be a solid blocker. He doesn’t have to be the best blocker in the game to be a great asset for us. If he can be a quality blocker who can score 8ish TD’s and be a good weapon/security blanket for us, then he’s everything we need and more

 

I couldn’t disagree more. I think heyward will make the team and will be used fairly frequently.

 

Ok. We'll see how that goes. He's only 6 foot tall. That precludes him from being a tight end. At least makes it extremely difficult for him to function as a tight end. Blocker? Maybe. But then we don't use the fullback we have right now so why would they need another fullback to sit on bench? Maybe a specialty kind of guy on receiving plays? I just don't see where he fits is all. Maybe you're right

 

Muth is going to be a good one. The others are weak.

 

Gentry is one of those players that has done exactly what the coaches have asked him to do. He has gotten Bigger and Better every year.

I think he will take another step forward this year and be a solid #2 TE.

I think the TEs will develop nicely this year as we begin to use the middle of the field more allowing them time to Chip the DE, and then get downfield to make the catch. It has been hard to do this in under 2 seconds with Ben.

Unless he is a total flop in Pre Season, no way Heyward gets cut to be put on the practice squad. Rader is the odd man out.

 

Often you run when you show pass in the offense. Harris is good in 3 wide, single TE, zone block. Heck, he is good at everything.
Pat Freiermuth seems to be a rising star (hope these QB's don't screw it up)
Gentry needs to step up his game. But, if the defense thinks 'oh, it is a run' then he needs to be able to slip off his block and use that big body.
Steelers always have solid TE's, everyone not named Pat Freiermuth needs to understand that and step it up.

 

Unless...He can be a hybrid type FB/ H Back / TE...And make Watt expendable...

And I also thought I seen a video of Gentry...Where he really trained and transformed his body....Faster and stronger?

 

I think he will be used in a jack of all trades fb/ te/rb

 

Ive had the same issue the last several years with 6'4 and above, which we rarely used in goal situations. Lousy catchers? Lousy scheme? It was just frustrating watching the ball being thrown before the goal line and getting stopped short. I'm just a simple guy..but you would think that height should create mismatches at least sometime in a game.

 

I understand the need for blocking, my fear is we miss an opportunity here. If we use Muth as another Bruener or Heath we are being shortsighted as how the game has developed. Certainly if he is as good as they were then you can't complain, but look at certain top O teams and how effective they use their TE's. I believe Muth has the tools to be a top TE in this league? I just do not know if this team has the mindset to change. Jmho

 

I get it..but then again I just don't see the effectiveness of this type of player in the past. I want to believe...for years I watched them draft 3rd and 4td round specialty return guys..then we saw Dookie Davenport as our kick return guy. Lmao. Samuel's was supposed to be that gadget guy..maybe he just sucked..but honestly the plays they used him in sucked to high heaven as well.

Perhaps I'm just getting to old and cranky..but gadget me a Randell El again and I just may smile. Lol

 

I may be overrating Muth, but I think he has All Pro potential. I think he can be a staple in the offense the next ten years at a high level. I think Gentry and Radar can definitely fill in as role players. Should be fun to watch all 3 develop this season and in the future.