Pittsburgh Steelers DE Cameron Heyward recently revealed that head coach Mike Tomlin had already been envisioning the possibility of a star matchup between WR George Pickens and CB Joey Porter Jr. before they even had the chance to draft the latter in April.
One wonders what kind of thoughts he might have had considering the possibility of adding Georgia Bulldogs TE Darnell Washington to that particular room. Though he passed on picking him on the first three go-arounds, they excitedly pulled the trigger when the 6-foot-7 behemoth was still on the board in the third round. And from what he’s seen, fellow TE Pat Freiermuth is getting just as excited.
“He’s progressing great, man. He’s [doing] all the little things”, he told Chris Mack for 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “It’s hard coming into the league and dominating like he is blocking-wise, and I think he’s doing that, and not only that, but he’s also rounding out his game in the receiving game, too. I can’t wait for the one-two punch with him”.
The Steelers have not had a true one-two punch at tight end since at least Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth, and that might be being generous depending upon your strictness. They’ve never had a duo with this sort of potential in completeness.
As Freiermuth pointed out, Washington is already a skilled blocker—not without some growing pains transitioning to the NFL level—but he is also coming along quite readily as a receiving option. While he got relatively little work at Georgia in that department, he already had something like half a dozen touchdowns in training camp.
Freiermuth, a 2021 second-round pick, is regarded as one of the top young tight ends in the game. Over his first two seasons, he has caught 123 passes for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns. While his scoring output declined last year with the transition at quarterback, his efficiency shot up by more than three yards per reception.
Many anticipate that the Steelers will run a lot more 12 personnel—that is, two tight ends, two wide receivers, and a running back—this upcoming season. Outside of Freiermuth and Washington, they also have Zach Gentry and Connor Heyward likely to be on the 53-man roster at the position, so they have options.
But it was notable for Freiermuth to describe himself and Washington as a one-two punch, signaling an awareness to both the plan and the evident reality. Almost undoubtedly, at some point before the end of his rookie season, Washington seems poised to be a key contributor to this offense, and then for years to come—something Freiermuth intends to be as well.
