The Pittsburgh Steelers have clearly prioritized grabbing young talent on offense in recent years, and they had added even more by drafting Georgia tight end Darnell Washington. Washington is heralded mostly for his blocking ability, but with his size, 6’7″ 267 pounds, he will certainly be a red zone threat as well.
Washington spoke with the Pittsburgh media Friday night and said he believes the Steelers have a Super Bowl-caliber team with all the talent they have on the offensive side of the ball.
“You surround the offense with players like George and Kenny [Pickett] and other players on the team, that’s a Super Bowl, that’s all I got to say,” said Washington via transcript provided by the team.Â
Pittsburgh has prioritized the offense in recent drafts, specifically the skill positions. It drafted running back Najee Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth in rounds one and two in 2021 and quarterback Kenny Pickett and wide receiver George Pickens in rounds one and two of last year. After taking Washington in round three of this year’s draft, the Steelers have spent high draft picks on all of the offensive skill positions.
With other moves to shore up the offensive line in free agency and the draft, Pittsburgh’s rebuild of the offense from the “Killer B” era is almost complete. While you can argue the team still needs a long-term center and maybe a right tackle, the offensive core is there, and Washington clearly loves it.
There is a lot of talent on the team and if Pickett takes a leap in year two, the Steelers offense should as well. The team appears to be built for smash mouth football so it is possible the team might not put up gaudy numbers, but it could dominate week in and week out.
The Steelers’ defense is the calling card of the team, but with all the young talent on offense the offense will not be a weight on the team and instead a second gear.
While the Steelers may not win a Super Bowl in 2023, the team is poised to become a contender real soon. And with multiple national champions drafted in the past two seasons from Georgia, players like Washington, Pickens, and Broderick Jones are simply used to winning and expect it to continue in the NFL.
