There may not be anybody in Pittsburgh more down on rookie tight end Darnell Washington than the man himself. The newest Steeler in the room spoke with reporters at the end of minicamp, and while he said he felt he ended things on a higher note, overall, he was only willing to go as high as a B- in grading himself, if not a C+.
The third-round draft pick spent three years as a member of the Georgia Bulldogs where he was a blocking-first option. More than 800 of his roughly 1300 career snaps there were spent in a blocking capacity, primarily run blocking but also in pass protection. He hasn’t yet gotten as many opportunities to demonstrate his quality in that area without pads, but he’s looking forward to training camp to do that.
In the meantime, he’s mindful of his need for improvement in the other areas of his game. While he first defaulted to saying that he needed to improve with “a little bit of everything”, he did offer some critiques about his work as a receiver.
“I know I may have run a good route here or there during these couple of days, but it’s still inconsistent, I feel like, when it comes to that, cleaning up in and out of breaks”, he said, via Amanda Godsey. Perhaps that’s why he also told reporters he was hoping to hang back in Pittsburgh over the break before training camp and get some work in with whatever quarterbacks were available.
Washington only saw 70 total targets during his entire three-year career at Georgia. It didn’t help that the Bulldogs were a wide receiver factory at the time (and continue to be), indeed producing one of his own teammates, George Pickens. They’ve also concurrently had a tight end prospect regarded to be a potential first-round pick in 2024 who was their primary receiver at the position.
But while the Steelers drafted him because of the qualities that he already possesses, they also believe that he has as-yet-untapped potential in the area of his receiving. He certainly has the size and the body control to be a weapon, and he’s shown some nifty moves when given the opportunity. After all, he has a 17.2-yard career yards-per-catch average, with 14 missed tackles forced on 45 receptions.
Washington will have time to hone this aspect of his game. He’ll be asked to contribute in that area from time to time as a rookie, sure, but they have Pat Freiermuth at tight end to be the receiving threat there. His emphasis in 2023 will be as a blocker, and that’s perfectly fine for now. But he has the potential to be even more than that. He knows it. That’s why he’s not grading himself on a curve. He’s even giving himself homework.
