HARRISBURG (TNS) — Since being drafted out of Penn State at pick 55 of the 2021 draft, Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth has been right on schedule, en route to becoming an NFL elite at his position.

In fact, many are predicting 2023 will be the year when the 6-5, 260-pound Freiermuth makes the final leap to be mentioned with superstars such as the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, the Ravens’ Mark Andrews and the 49ers’ George Kittle.

After all, Freiermuth has established himself as quarterback Kenny Pickett’s most clutch target, especially on third down.

The only Steelers’ pass catcher targeted more than Freiermuth’s 96 receiving opportunities was No. 1 receiver Diontae Johnson, with 141.

With Pickett predicted to pick up his game in his sophomore year, Freiermuth fully expects to benefit with a 2023 season that could move him to the elite echelon — and set the stage for a big new contract with the Steelers.

There’s just one catch to all this. That is many of the red zone targets and catches could go to Freiermuth’s rookie teammate, Darnell Washington. The Georgia Bulldog who some consider the steal of the draft could steal some of Freiermuth’s 2023 thunder — and a good many of the touchdowns that would have gone his way.

Even in a down year for the Steelers’ passing game as Pickett gained his NFL sea legs and the team attempted to run the ball much more, Freiermuth notched increases in several important metrics in 2022: yards per catch, yards after reception and average depth of target. The increases came over his rookie campaign when Big Ben Roethlisberger was his QB.

No wonder he is looking for much bigger things — including top 5 tight-end status in the NFL — this season.

“I just want to continue to improve and show that I’m top-ten in the league,” Freiermuth was quoted as saying. “I have to have a good year this year to solidify (myself as a top-five tight end in the league.)”

It’s not just a personal goal, either. There’s big money on the line.

Freiermuth will reportedly earn $1.208 million with a $436,000 roster bonus in 2023. He stands to become a free agent after the 2024 season. But a big 2023 campaign would set the stage for a big new deal next offseason.

How big? Pro Football Focus recently reported that the negotiation to watch is in Minnesota, where Vikings’ tight end T.J. Hockenson could top Kittle’s $15 million dollar per year contract with the 49ers.

There’s just one thing standing in the way of a breakout (and highly bankable) 2023 for Freiermuth. And the impediment is on his own team, too, in the massive form of 6-5, 265-pound rookie Darnell Washington.

Many say the Steelers got a steal when the big Georgia Bulldog tight end fell in the 2023 draft to the 93rd pick, where Pittsburgh promptly snapped him up.

PFF rates Washington as the best overall addition of the Steelers’ entire offseason, calling him “a supreme blocking talent with impressive receiving chops to match.”

Washington’s bowling-ball-like blocking should be on full display early and often. As the season progresses, his big body and good hands could make him a reliable impact weapon in the red zone. This is precisely where Pickett and the Steelers were abysmal in 2023.

Freiermuth is still going to get his, as Pickett loves the Penn Stater in the clutch. But red zone production also was a big problem for Freiermuth last season, too. He snagged just two touchdowns all last year, after hauling in seven when Big Ben was firing the football.

The No. 1 priority in Pittsburgh is to increase the Steelers’ touchdown conversion rate. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada is in his lab, looking to unlock many more points when Pickett and the offense get down close.

Word is, the big rookie out of Georgia could be featured in many of the red zone plays Canada is concocting.

If so, Washington could go a long way toward stealing some of the much-anticipated 2023 thunder from Freiermuth.

Should the Steelers’ QBs led by Pickett markedly increase their passing TD production from last year’s meager dozen — but Freiermuth doesn’t benefit much — it could mar his case for a big Steelers’ pay day next offseason.

So far, Washington is playing it very humble in Pittsburgh. He recently told Steelers.com that his focus in the upcoming training camp will be on becoming “a complete tight end.”

Said Washington: “I need to put it all together. Once I do that, I will be a complete tight end. I am not complete yet. It takes time. Being with Coach Alfredo (Roberts) and working on our game will make it happen.”

If it does — and most Steelers observers expect it will — Washington will be a blocking beast and a mammoth target in the very place Pickett and the Steelers starved last season — the red zone.

Washington said as much, telling Steelers.com, “when I put it all together, I can be a mismatch.”

He knows it; Matt Canada surely knows it; and the 2023 Steelers’ playbook will reflect this.

Should Washington reignite Pittsburgh’s red zone ketchup bottles with scores, all of Steelers Nation will be rightly cheering their big, new weapon.

But one wonders whether Freiermuth will feel a little left out. After all, 2023 was supposed to be his year.

Now, it could become the coming out party for Darnell Washington.

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