In 2024 the Pittsburgh Steelers cut against the grain of conventional wisdom and went with four tight ends. As expected they kept Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward.
MyCole Pruitt held down the extra spot at tight end. Did he do enough to earn an extended stay in Pittsburgh?
MyCole Pruitt goes for 22 yards. Photo Credit: AP via Tribune-Review
Capsule Profile of MyCole Pruitt’s Career with the Steelers
Like Van Jefferson, MyCole Pruitt came to Pittsburgh after having played with Arthur Smith. Pruitt had experience with Smith both in Tennessee and in Atlanta. As expected Puritt made the 53 man roster and appeared in 12 games.
His stat line was pretty sparse, as he caught 6 passes on 10 targets for 40 yards accounting for 2 first downs and one touchdown in the December 21st regular season loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Pruitt logged 34% of the offensive snaps for the Steelers.
The Case for the Steelers Resigning MyCole Pruitt
MyCole Pruitt knows Arthur Smith’s system and he’s clearly someone that Smith is comfortable with. He’s got 121 games under his belt with 44 starts and, as they say, “there’s no substitute for experience.”
Or something like that.
The Case Against the Steelers Resigning MyCole Pruitt
With the Steelers fielding a J.V. wide receiver corps behind George Pickens (OK, Calvin Austin isn’t J.V.), the tight ends were supposed to help pick up the slack.
It is impossible to even make a theoretical argument that MyCole Pruitt contributed anything towards that objective. He’s never had more than 21 targets in a season, and at age 33 he has no upside.
And while I don’t pretend to be able to evaluate Pruitt’s run-blocking technique, given that he played in 34% of the snaps the “Eye Test” suggests he was hardly a difference maker as a run blocker.
Finally, with Pruitt on the roster, Connor Heyward’s snap count dropped from 38% in 2023 to 18% in 2024. Even if we control for sentimental bias, Heyward still has a legitimate “upside.” To repeat: Pruitt does not.
Neither did he contribute on special teams, only appearing in 5% of those saps.
Curtain’s Call on the Steelers and MyCole Pruitt
While the Steelers made a worthwhile decision in taking a flyer on MyCole Pruitt, there’s no reason to extend this one year experiment.
Expect the Steelers to move on this spring, and for Pruitt to either eek another year or two of NFL existence as a veteran minimum roster bubble player or being his “Life’s Work.”
