When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted TE Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, they got a player who is a high level blocker and has a high ceiling as a pass catcher. In recent days, Washington has been showcasing his pass catching ability as he has relied on his size to haul in passes.
Today, Washington met with reporters, in a video posted to Steelers.com, and said that because when he is in pass catching situations he is covered by players much faster than him he has to use his size to win those battles.
“Really just help trying to create separation,” Washington said about using his size to his advantage. “‘Cause I mean, most nickels or things like that are fashion me are faster than me, I’m not gonna really outrun ’em. I really just gotta use my size to my advantage, just high pointing the ball and things like that. Just having strong physical hands to finish catch.”
Standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing 264 pounds Washington is a massive person. Like he said, he isn’t going to outrun defensive backs, or even most linebackers, but he can create space by boxing them out and being a crafty player. Not many players who would be covering him are going to be bigger than him so he has to take advantage of his size.
Washington has showed he is more than capable of doing this already in training camp as a few days ago he skied over LB Miles Killebrew for a score despite Killebrew blanketing him in coverage.
Washington has a high ceiling as a pass catcher, especially if he can use his size to his advantage, but his real calling card is his blocking ability. Washington was primarily used at as a blocker at Georgia and it is one of the reasons he was such a highly touted prospect, he was the best blocker in the draft class.
But, his size can make blocking a bit difficult. Yes, he is a massive human being and hard to move, but there is a reason they saying is “low man wins.” At 6-foot-7 Washington is rarely every going to be in leverage advantage, but that is where he plans on using his length to aid him.
“That’s where I still gotta use my length to advantage,” Washington said. “So if that’s me putting my hands on them first. Really just a first initial contact,I still gotta stay low, at least low to me….Just really just dig, push your cleats in the ground and dig and keep your feet moving. That’s just kind of how I have to do it since I’m so much taller than a lot of other guys.”
So far, Washington’s height has not negatively impacted his blocking at all. He has won reps against superstar EDGE T.J. Watt and consistently won throughout college. It seems the man who calls himself “The Sixth Offensive Lineman” is having no issue with using his length to his advantage.
Washington has all the tools to be an elite tight end in the NFL; he just has to put them all together. Washington didn’t seem any targets in college and with TE Pat Freiermuth having firm control on TE1 targets may be harder to come by for Washington. However, his size is something Freiermuth doesn’t have and you can’t teach, so come red zone situations Washington may be a huge and effective target for QB Kenny Pickett.
