For some players in the NFL, it’s hard to get up for football in shorts. There’s no throwing your body around, hitting and outmuscling people. Instead, it’s a glorified walk-through.
Right or wrong, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tight end Darnell Washington might be one of those guys.
Throughout OTAs, minicamp and the first week of training camp in Latrobe, Washington looked a bit sluggish overall and wasn’t moving as explosively as his testing numbers led many to believe.
When the pads come on Tuesday though, Washington was a changed man.
Washington was playing “real” football and his size, physicality and demeanor took over, leading to two strong days at training camp in Latrobe.
Throughout the first two days of padded practices in training camp on Tuesday and Wednesday, Washington began to look like the tight end the Steelers were expecting when they selected him in the third round out of Georgia in the 2023 NFL Draft.
According to Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora, who has been at training camp every day, Washington remains a work in progress, but he’s getting better each day and has really made a mark the first two days in pads.
“Put the pads on TE Darnell Washington and he’s a changed man. Makes plays. He did have some issues with T.J. Watt in 1v1 run blocking but his arrow is pointed up, to steal the phrase from Mike Tomlin,” Kozora wrote regarding Washington in his Day Six training camp diary from Latrobe.
Right away on Day Six of training camp and the second day of pads, Washington asserted himself as a dominant physical presence. In the first team 11v11 session of the afternoon on Chuck Noll Field, Washington skied over backup safety Miles Killebrew to haul in a touchdown, using every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame to haul in the pass, going up for the ball like a rebound in basketball.
Prior to his strong day Wednesday in Latrobe, Washington showed out in pads on Tuesday, the first day of padded practices for the Steelers.
Washington held his own in the famous backs on ‘backers drills, getting called out by Tomlin to take on star pass rusher T.J. Watt. Washington did quite well, using his size and length to seal Watt up the arc for the win on the rep. Later in the session in the second rep between the two, Washington again won with his size and length, sealing Watt up the arc, keeping the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year from being unable to rip through.
Though he later lost a rep to fellow rookie Nick Herbig in the drill, Washington’s showing was impressive against Watt.
The rookie continued a strong first day in pads, boxing out cornerback James Pierre for a touchdown while showing off his frame and catch radius in a team session, ending his day on a high note.
Those first two days in pads were a far cry from his first few days in camp in just a helmet.
Washington was a bit sloppy early on in camp with some drops, some messy, slow routes and a false start penalty in Seven Shots that caused tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts to pull him out of the drill and replace him with Rodney Williams.
Once the pads came on though, Washington has been a different animal. That’s great news for the Steelers moving forward. He brings a physical presence that’s been lacking offensively. Hopefully he’s able to continue stacking strong days and be that dominant figure the Steelers were hoping for when they took advantage of him sliding down draft boards.
