Though you get used to it after watching him in training camp for awhile, those coming to Latrobe to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time can’t get over how big rookie TE Darnell Washington is. Count NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah in that camp. He recently joined Rich Eisen to preview the Steelers’ season and couldn’t help but point out how Pittsburgh’s tight end looks like an NBA forward.
“The tight end, Darnell Washington,” Jeremiah said. “He was listed in the 260’s. Rich, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I promise you he’s closer to 290 than he is 260. He is enormous. He is enormous. Not an ounce of fat on him. You talk about standing out on an NFL field, he’s a giant.”
Coming out of Georgia, Washington officially weighed in at 6065, 272 pounds with offensive tackle-like 34 3/8-inch arms. He was among the largest tight ends in the 2023 class, considered NFL-ready given how often he functioned as an in-line blocker in the Bulldogs’ pro system. He took pride in doing the dirty work and still calls himself a sixth offensive lineman on his Instagram page. It’s unclear what his current playing weight is but no matter what the scale says, he towers over most other at his position (though Zach Gentry is just as big, if not bigger).
Due to reported medical concerns over his knees in likely combination of a strong tight end class, Washington fell to the third round of April’s draft. Despite trading down from the 80th pick, Washington still fell to the Steelers at pick 93. After a slow start to training camp, Washington has come on strong, routinely winning in the red zone. He has more touchdowns than any other Steelers player this camp. While his blocking has been inconsistent, he’s had his moments, as Jeremiah was quick to point out.
“He was doing 1 on 1’s against T.J. Watt, more than holding his own in pass protection.”
Jeremiah attended Saturday’s practice, the second and final time Pittsburgh would hold its backs-on-‘backers drill. Watt had more success against Washington that day but they were still good battles. When the two faced each other in that drill on Tuesday, Washington convincingly won his matchups against Watt, a real “whoa” moment of camp.
Though Washington won’t put up gaudy stats, he could have useful roles in the Steelers’ offense. For a team that wants to run the ball early and often, Washington’s size should fit right in. Though he’s low in the pecking order for receptions, his training camp usage and success makes him a weapon in the red zone, specifically the low red zone. Pittsburgh has thrown multiple jump balls to him on the goal line and Washington has the size to box out defenders over the middle. He has even been used down the seam more often.
The drops or near-catches he missed out on early in camp are now falling into his hands. He may have a regular-season stat line of 18 receptions with three or four finding the end zone. It’d go a long way to improving Pittsburgh inside the 20, finishing as exactly the 23rd-ranked red zone offense each of the last two years.
Check out the whole clip with Jeremiah and Eisen below.
