Who Should I Start? Pat Freiermuth or Jake Ferguson

Thursday, April 4, 2:16 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth said on the Around the 412 podcast on Wednesday that he wants "to be in Pittsburgh for the rest of my career" as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract in 2024. He missed five games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, but overall his numbers declined from the previous two seasons. Subpar quarterback play didn't help, and the 25-year-old former second-round pick in 2021 out of Penn State caught a career-low 32 passes for 308 yards and only two touchdowns in 12 regular season games (nine starts). In new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's offense, Freiermuth could have a bounce-back campaign in 2024 and will be a nice sleeper target in fantasy drafts this fall.

Saturday, May 18, 1:18 PM

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson caught 19 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie in 2022, but he enters the 2024 season as the team's top tight end after catching 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. "To me, I think I'm not even scratching my surface," Ferguson said. He has taken part in the Tight End University program led by Greg Olsen, George Kittle and Travis Kelce, and TEs coach Lunda Wells thinks Ferguson can go for 1,000 yards receiving. Ferguson is trying to add a little more bulk to his 252-pound frame this offseason to help him as a blocker. Not only does Ferguson have the skills to continue ascending, but he has great chemistry with quarterback Dak Prescott. There's uncertainty at the No. 3 receiver position behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks in Dallas, too, so Ferguson could take another step forward as a TE1 in 2024.