Could recent Steelers signing signal Fields is frontrunner?
With the NFL offseason come random signings, moves, and plenty of rumors. The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t been extremely active despite hiring two new defensive assistants for the defensive backs and inside linebackers. On Feb 21, the Steelers did sign a tight end to a one-year deal. With quarterback the primary focus this offseason per Art Rooney II, could the addition of yet another tight end signal that Justin Fields is the frontrunner to be re-signed by Pittsburgh over Russell Wilson?
The signing
Donald Parham Jr. is a former first-team All-American at Stetson University who spent his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers after becoming the top tight end in the XFL with the Dallas Renegades. The 6-foot, 8-inch tight end spent the entirety of the 2024 NFL season on the Denver Broncos practice squad, however.
Currently, the Steelers have Pat Freiermuth – who was just given a nice contract extension last year – at the position with Connor Heyward, Darnell Washington, and MyCole Pruitt.
That begs the question as to why the Steelers might be interested in going even heavier on tight ends on their roster in 2025.
Tight end utilization comparison
Talk is that Fields has utilized tight ends better in his career than Wilson. How do the two compare, especially while with the Steelers?
With Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator last season, it wasn’t a secret that tight ends would be utilized often in his schemes. Smith has traditionally used multiple tight end sets wherever he has coached, with mixed results.
Wilson has worked with tight ends, most recently (prior to joining the Steelers) with Jimmy Graham and Luke Wilson (Seattle Seahawks) and Greg Dulcich (Denver Broncos). Denver ran 12 personnel 14th-most in the league in 2023, but tight ends were targeted just 62 times (39 catches).
In his first 12 years of play in the NFL, Wilson has had just two tight ends that have ranked higher than 20th in production in PPR scoring per Fantasy Index.
In 2024, with Wilson as the starting quarterback, he targeted tight ends on 23.8 percent of his passes (weeks 7 through 18 with Week 9 the “bye”).
In 2023, while with the Chicago Bears, Fields targeted tight ends on 24.5 percent of his throws by comparison. In 2024, Fields was the starting quarterback weeks 1 through 6. He targeted Steelers tight ends 32 times out of 160 passing attempts to all offensive targets for a 20.0 target percent.
Comparing the two quarterbacks over the course of their entire careers isn’t as helpful as it might seem. And, when paired in Pittsburgh with Smith as coordinator, the duo had comparable numbers to what Smith got with the Tennessee Titans than with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers weren’t pass heavy offensively last season, either. They often relied on running backs over tight ends as outlet receiving targets. Of the tight ends, Pat Freiermuth was the most productive (targets and catches) playing with both quarterbacks.
Based on pace, Fields may have targeted tight ends more often had he remained the starter at quarterback, but that hardly would have signalled that adding another tight end to the roster means he will be the quarterback the Steelers keep for 2025.
The addition of Parham is more likely to add competition into the tight ends group than determine the next starting quarterback. Pruitt and Heyward, though utilized, were not targeted nearly as often as Freiermuth. Washington, a formidable player, isn’t particularly speedy. Parham has the size for red zone targeting and athleticism going for him, but a one year contract is a guarantee of very little at this point of the NFL year.
With the NFL Pro Scouting Combine cranking up, the Steelers will be looking at potential draft prospects. Their choice of quarterback likely will not come before then. That makes Parham’s signing just another day at the office and not a veiled reveal.
