You can ask half a dozen people this year who their favorite selection was from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft class and you may well get half a dozen different answers. Considering there were some people who wanted the team to draft him 32nd overall, I think we can safely assume third-round tight end Darnell Washington would be a likely candidate for inclusion.
At 6’7” and 264 pounds, he is certainly a physically imposing specimen and has intriguing upside. Still 21 years old, he’s got room to grow as he continues to round out his game after being used primarily as a blocking tight end in the Georgia Bulldogs offense. But draft analyst Emory Hunt thinks we should have some patience with him. He’ll get on the field, but he needs time to become a more complete player.
“Maybe there’s too many Marvel movies or too many superhero movies”, he said on the College Draft podcast with Ross Tucker. “‘Oh, he’s 6’8”, he’s just gonna be “raaah”, he’s gonna climb over [people]’. It doesn’t work out like that. There is some nuance that needs to happen with his route running, but as a blocker—already [there]”.
Of the roughly 1,300 offensive snaps he saw over his three-year college career, about 800 of them were devoted to blocking roles, with about half of it coming as a run blocker. In an offense that consistently produced first- and second-round wide receivers and with a first-round talent as the top receiving threat at tight end, Washington just wasn’t needed as a receiving option.
But he excelled at what they asked him to do, which is block, and that’s the key to getting his foot in the door—not that anybody who followed the draft didn’t already know that. Once you get on the field, though, you get to start showing your range.
“This is somebody I’ve said before I’ve watched him move guys to positions, washing guys from defensive end out to boundary corner with how well he’s able to downblock”, Hunt said. “That’s gonna help him get on the field right away”.
And that’s what the Steelers are going to want him to do. They have talked about establishing a physical, run-the-ball identity throughout the offseason, and their actions have arguably spoken even louder than their words.
Washington is just a part of that, as is Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo. The trenches got a lot more physical this offseason, and the talent level has been raised. But they can’t let pass protection take a back seat, either.
That’s where personnel can come in handy. Running with two or three tight ends on the field can force a defense into indecisiveness, unable to commit to the run or the pass. Washington doesn’t need to be an elite pass-catcher right now for that to work, not with Pat Freiermuth, and the Steelers can also use Connor Heyward, who can be a move blocker or a receiving threat, in that role.
