Handing Out Steelers Mid-Season Awards

Story by Yinzer Crazy Steelers' Expert Jayson Erwin. Follow him on Twitter @JaysonErwin2002

The season is halfway over and it's been...well lackluster at best. There is a lot of hope for the future, but not the start Steeler Nation expected from the newest Steel stars. There has still been some big time highlights this season and, well, that's where I come in. There are gonna be five categories: Best rookie, best offensive player, best defensive player, best game so far (must be a win), and most improved player. Now let's see how many people will disagree with me!

Best Rookie: WR George Pickens

For the Pickett fans out there, he was a close second. But I mean come on now! Did you see the catch he had versus the Browns, the Dolphins, the Jets, the Patriots, or the Bills? You get it, dude's a stud! Throw it to him and good things happen. Pickett hasn't hit his prime yet but Pickens already looks like he has. Plus, he's a great blocker and has often sent defenders to 2nd dimensions with his push. He's in the top 5 for receiving yards and receptions when it comes to rookie receivers. And considering he doesn't get as many opportunities as other rookie receivers, and he hasn't seen the field since Claypool was traded, the future is bright for Pickens. I'm gonna enjoy hearing "Pickett to Pickens! Touchdown!" on Sundays. 

Best Offensive Player: TE Pat Freiermuth

People often ask me, what is a sports take you will defend until you die? And this is what I tell them: "Pat Freiermuth is a top-ten tight end right now" He is statistically having a better season than other top tight ends like Kyle Pitts. If we're looking at per-game stats, he's doing better than Darren Waller Freiermuth has been the answer for the Steelers tight-end situation since the departure of Heath Miller in the 2015 season. From Ladarius Green, Jesse James, Vance McDonald, and Eric Ebron, the Steelers were struggling to find their next tight end until Freiermuth rose through the ranks and proved he's an elite prospect from the 2021 draft. Top ten in receiving yards and top five in 20+ yard plays for tight ends. Yes, Diontae Johnson is an elite receiver, but Freiermuth has more touchdowns despite playing fewer games than Johnson, and has higher averages in yards per catch and yards per game. A tight end doing better than the #1 receiver? This really has been a strange season.

Best Defensive Player: S Minkah Fitzpatrick

I have a lot of friends who are Bengals fans and therefore love Joe Burrow. I like Burrow too, but I love to tell people "yeah, who can forget Burrow's first pass of the season was a touchdown, just not for his team". So thank you Mr. Minkah Fitzpatrick for making that possible! 3 picks for him thus far this year and a touchdown. I mean he technically has more touchdowns than Diontae Johnson and Chris Godwin. He has the same amount of touchdowns as Darren Waller and Brandin Cooks. He's blocked a PAT that won the game vs. the Bengals and just has been clutch all season. Once again, I'll send flowers to Miami for giving us this absolute stud.

Most Improved Player: S Terrell Edmunds

Nobody is talking about him this year. He hasn't made elite plays like Fitzpatrick, but his play has gotten better since last year. He has made great plays against the run and has hit the right holes to take backs down for a loss. There was an impressive play where he kept up with the fastest player in the league, Tyreek Hill, and knocked the ball down. His PFF grade from last year went from an average grade of 60.1 to 73.1. Quite an improvement! Let's see how he plays as the year goes on.

The Best Game: Week 1 @ Cincinnati Bengals

It's been about 2 months since this game and I still can't believe how it went. I had zero expectations for the Steelers nor did I expect them to win. But hey, if you expect disappointment, you won't be disappointed. But what if you go into something being disappointed and the best-case scenario happens? That my friends is one of the most fulfilling things in life. The Steelers had about 25 scenarios where they should've lost this game. The Bengals at one point had about a 97% chance to win this game. But here's a summary of how the game went toward the end. The Bengals are down by 6 points. The Bengals get a touchdown as time expires and tie it, an extra point will win the game ---- and Evan McPherson is one of the best kickers in the league. No way he misses it! Guess what happens? The extra point gets blocked by Minkah Fitzpatrick! Overtime here we come! The Steelers get the ball first but they punt after failing to convert third down. The Bengals drive down to the Steelers 11-yard line and go to kick the field goal with one of the best in the league, Evan McPherson. No way he misses it! Guess what happened? The Steelers get the ball back and get into field goal range for Chris Boswell, another elite kicker. He has only missed once in the jungle. No way he misses it! Guess what happened? The Bengals get the ball once again and drive it down to the Steelers 38-yard line and are in field goal range once again for McPherson. No way he misses it! Guess what happened? Not what you think. The Bengals would run another play and Burrow would get sacked back at the Steelers 45-yard line, knocking them out of field goal range so they had to punt it. At this point, the Steelers only have 56 seconds to get SOMETHING or it's a tie. They get down to the Bengals 35-yard line with 5 seconds left. A 53-yard kick, two yards closer to the goal post than the last kick. No way he misses it! Guess what happened?

Well, he actually made it and the Steelers won! If you thought watching it on TV was wild, imagine being there live. Except I didn't have to imagine it because I was there! (For a more in-depth look at it from my point of view, you can read it right here).