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Through Pittsburgh’s first four games of the 2026 regular season, Pat Freiermuth has the stronger receiving totals for fantasy: 14 catches, 125 yards and two touchdowns, compared with Darnell Washington’s nine catches, 119 yards and one touchdown. Washington has gained more yards per catch, and the Steelers list both tight ends together at the top of the depth chart. That makes Freiermuth the statistical leader so far—not a confirmed solo starter or a guaranteed better rest-of-season play.
Freiermuth vs. Washington: 2026 stats through Week 4
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ official team stats show both players with four games played through Week 4, as of October 4, 2026. The totals below are receiving statistics, not fantasy points.
| Measure | Pat Freiermuth | Darnell Washington | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth chart | Top tight-end row | Top tight-end row | Listed together; Robert Tonyan follows |
| Games | 4 | 4 | Four-game sample |
| Receptions | 14 | 9 | Freiermuth has five more |
| Receiving yards | 125 | 119 | Freiermuth has six more |
| Yards per reception | 8.9 | 13.2 | Washington is higher |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2 | 1 | Freiermuth has one more |
| Longest reception | 22 yards | 47 yards | Washington is higher |
Source: Pittsburgh Steelers team stats and the Steelers depth chart, checked October 4, 2026. The chart is a roster listing, not a measure of snaps or routes.
How each tight end has produced week to week
Pat Freiermuth
- Week 1 vs. Atlanta: 5 catches, 46 yards, 1 touchdown.
- Week 2 at New England: 4 catches, 32 yards.
- Week 3 vs. Cincinnati: 2 catches, 30 yards.
- Week 4 at Cleveland: 3 catches, 17 yards, 1 touchdown.
Darnell Washington
- Week 1 vs. Atlanta: 2 catches, 18 yards.
- Week 2 at New England: 1 catch, 7 yards.
- Week 3 vs. Cincinnati: 3 catches, 67 yards.
- Week 4 at Cleveland: 3 catches, 27 yards, 1 touchdown.
Freiermuth led the four-game totals in catches and touchdowns. Washington’s 67-yard Week 3 performance accounts for much of his yardage efficiency advantage, but four games do not establish a stable weekly workload or future target share. Individual game lines are available in the NFL.com Freiermuth game log and NFL.com Washington game log.
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What their recent seasons add to the comparison
Freiermuth has produced substantially more receiving volume in recent full seasons. The Steelers list his 2024 line as 65 catches, 653 yards and seven touchdowns; in 2025 he had 41 catches, 486 yards and four touchdowns. Those were 17-game seasons, and the figures are receiving totals rather than fantasy points. His Steelers career statistics also list 63 catches, 732 yards and two touchdowns in 2022, and 60 catches, 497 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021.
Washington’s NFL.com career statistics show 19 catches, 200 yards and one touchdown in 2024, followed by 31 catches, 364 yards and one touchdown in 2025. His NFL.com statistics summary had not yet incorporated his fourth 2026 game when checked, so use the Steelers team totals above for the current four-game comparison.
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Should you start Freiermuth or Washington?
If choosing only from the evidence available here, Freiermuth has the clearer early-season case because he leads in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. Washington has shown greater yards-per-catch production and a longer gain. Neither edge settles a weekly start/sit decision: the Steelers’ chart lists them together, and the cited stats do not establish targets, route participation, snap rates, red-zone opportunity or fantasy points by scoring format.
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- In standard scoring: touchdowns and yardage matter more directly; Freiermuth leads in touchdowns, while Washington is close in total yards.
- In half-PPR: weigh both reception volume and yardage/touchdown production against your league’s exact scoring rules.
Before a lineup, waiver or trade decision, check current health, targets, routes, red-zone usage and the upcoming matchup. Those measures can change the comparison, and they are not established by the four-game receiving totals.
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How much weight to give the 2026 start
Four games are a small sample. Freiermuth’s lead describes what has happened so far, not a season-long target share, secure weekly floor or rest-of-season projection. Washington’s offseason role expectation—reported on his NFL Fantasy player card with Rotowire commentary dated May 28, 2026—predated the games now available and should not override current results; those results still do not reveal route or target usage.
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