The Steelers have two tight ends they've traded for in the past past three seasons — Vance McDonald and Nick Vannett — but they have 34 catches combined on 51 targets for 283 yards through ten games.
McDonald does tie for the most receiving touchdowns on the Steelers with three, but with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson in concussion protocol, it may be time for the tight end position to be more involved in the offense.
Let's take a look at where they've been:
Neither McDonald nor Vannett are completely at fault for their drop in production, playing with Mason Rudolph as he gets his bearings as an NFL starter in just his second year. McDonald especially is getting plenty open, averaging 3.8 yards of separation per target according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
That's the fifth best among NFL tight ends, and seventh best among all NFL offensive players. Tight ends naturally get more separation because secondaries respect their size and give them more space, but McDonald has still been among the best at creating space for Rudolph to target.
The problem is he just hasn't seen enough of those passes. Watch this play when Rudolph quickly checks to Jaylen Samuels on an incomplete pass. If you look to the bunched players to the left, McDonald runs a simple curl route that's wide open for a solid gain on first down:
When Rudolph has found McDonald, it normally leads to success. His first two NFL touchdown passes were to McDonald against the Seahawks, and a crucial second half touchdown against the Colts was thrown to McDonald for a rare red-zone touchdown.
McDonald still has the athleticism to capitalize on defenses that give him space to work. Watch how he turns this drag route into a 22-yard gain for the Steelers. He's still the same guy that planted Buccaneers safety Chris Conte with the world's meanest stiff arm in 2018.
Watch how he turns upfield and takes two defenders with him for extra yards after contact:
It's no secret to Randy Fichtner that McDonald could be used more, and that's something he's schemed. Like this red-zone pass where McDonald beat safety Juston Burris with an out route. Burris slips in coverage as McDonald breaks into his route, but Rudolph overshoots it and McDonald can't even get a jump ball:
Even if Johnson plays Sunday against the Bengals, McDonald could be a better security blanket for Rudolph to target for easy yards. He has big play ability and doesn't shy from making combat catches.
Vannett isn't the explosive threat that McDonald is, but he's still shown to be a hard working tight end that can make a play when given a chance. Which is all these tight ends really need.
But how much of the offense's problems are on it's coordinator, Fichtner? That's tomorrow.
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