At 6-foot-7, 270 pounds, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tight end Darnell Washington shouldn’t move the way that he does on a football field.
The fact that he does though makes him an absolute freak and a nightmare matchup for defenses.
That size, coupled with his overall athleticism and skill set as a dual-threat tight end has CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso believing that Washington is a non-Day 1 rookie sleeper in the AFC. Trapasso writes that Washington could be a “runaway train” in 2023 for Pittsburgh, due to his work after the catch in college, where he forced 14 missed tackles on 45 receptions during his time in Athens.
“I can’t get enough Washington hype. Send all of it my way. I adored him as a prospect although I acknowledged he was vastly different than the vast majority of en vogue tight ends today. Those forced missed tackles? Most of them were earned Angry Runs style through, not around, defenders,” Trapasso writes regarding Washington and his potential sleeper impact in 2023. “At a hair under 6-foot-7 and 264 pounds with a frame that could easily add another 10-15 pounds without any explosiveness being sapped, Washington will be a runaway train in the NFL. Plus, he’s a sincerely devastating blocker. Washington adds such a fun and unique layer to Year 2 of the Kenny Pickett era.”
The hype regarding Washington continues to gain steam. He landed in a perfect situation in Pittsburgh where the Steelers love to use 12 personnel, have a true No. 1 tight end already in Pat Freiermuth, and have a great position coach for him to work and develop under in Alfredo Roberts.
Add in the fact that he’ll likely be working next to former Georgia teammate Broderick Jones along the offensive line quite often in the NFL and it’s hard to find the negatives in the landing spot for Washington.
That said, the NFL is a different game. He may have dominated in college due to his size and strength, but that won’t be enough in the NFL.
He still has plenty of developing to do, both as a blocker and a receiver. He needs to clean up his footwork as a blocker, something he’s already pointed out, and really needs to work on developing a route tree at the position overall. He won’t be able to rely on his size and athleticism as much in the NFL.
Still, it’s hard to not be excited about Washington and have high expectations for him, even with him falling to the third round due to medical concerns. He’s going to be that physical presence the Steelers need at the tight end position right away as a blocker and could provide some splash after the catch due to his speed and physicality.
He might not be a runaway train right away, but the potential is absolutely there.
