The Pittsburgh Steelers knew what they were getting in Georgia tight end Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, at least from an in-line blocking perspective.
At 6-foot-7, 270 pounds, Washington was a force with his hand in the dirt at Georgia, one who served as an extra offensive lineman. So far through his first training camp with the Steelers and his first three preseason games in the Black and Gold, Washington has undoubtedly looked the part as a blocker.
But it’s been his work in the passing game that has drawn the attention of head coach Mike Tomlin.
Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show Monday afternoon before practice, Tomlin stated that Washington has been better in the passing game so far than maybe the Steelers could have anticipated.
“He physically looks like that he has an appetite and an attitude for it [blocking], and so, I’m looking forward to him being a big time help to us. And really, he’s been better in the passing game through this process, maybe than we anticipated, which is also a plus,” Tomlin said in his interview with Eisen, according to video via the show on the Roku channel.
Washington didn’t get much work in the passing game in the preseason, seeing just four targets in three games. On those four targets, Washington hauled in two passes for just 14 yards. However, his two other targets resulted in pass interference penalties in the win over the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium while in the end zone, setting up a Connor Heyward 3-yard touchdown reception from Mitch Trubisky.
The Bills grabbing and holding Washington in the red zone to avoid the touchdown on the two plays was rather notable, as that’s really all that defensive backs can do against him one-on-one in space right now.
“We’re going to continue to give him opportunities down in the red zone,” Trubisky said to Steelers.com’s Mike Prisuta after the win over the Bills. “He’s a big target. He knows how to get open. It’s going to be tough for defenses to cover because he’s a big target and he knows how to catch and make those plays.”
Though the receptions and the YAC haven’t been there so far, just his overall impact and matchup advantage in the passing game has been rather prominent for the Steelers.
In three preseason games, Washington ran 25 routes overall. but he’s averaged just 0.60 yards per route run in those three preseason games, meaning the Steelers have kept him relatively close to the line of scrimmage as a receiver.
At times in training camp, Washington struggled in the passing game, especially early on in just helmets. Once the pads came on though, Washington was a force. According to Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora, Washington had seven touchdowns in training camp, which tied for the team lead with George Pickens.
Washignton also earned a training camp grade of ‘B’ from Kozora, who wrote of Washington: “He showed he could make the highlight reel play, skying over Miles Killebrew on a jump ball in seven shots, and he dazzled with one-handed grabs running routes on air early in practice.”
His work in the passing game has gained attention from Tomlin, especially the work in the red zone against the Bills. He’s already going to be an impactful blocker in the run game. We’ll see if he gets more work in the passing game, especially after Tomlin’s comments to Eisen.
