Through the first four practices at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp in Latrobe, there’s been very little work done on the field between second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett and rookie tight end Darnell Washington.
That may change with the pads now on and things going live on Chuck Noll Field at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday morning, Pickett stated that he’s most looking forward to getting work in with Washington — especially in the red zone — with the pads coming on, praising the tight end for the work he’s done despite things seemingly speeding up for him at the NFL level.
“I’d say the guys that I haven’t really had a chance to work with here yet, guys like Darnell. He’s a guy that I haven’t had many reps with, so continuing to build that with him,” Pickett told reporters, according to video via 93.7 The Fan. “We’ll get down into the red zone today and I think he’ll be huge down there. We’ll be building off of what we did in the spring, so he’s a guy that I want to continue to work with.”
Early on in training camp at Saint Vincent College, things haven’t gone all that well for Washington overall, at least as a receiver.
Washington, per Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora, has been targeted six times through four practices. He’s hauled in just two of those passes for 17 yards. The numbers aren’t all that impressive and add in that he has one drop — again, per Kozora — it’s been a rough start to his first training camp.
On top of his drop, Washington had a false start penalty in Seven Shots, which caused tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts to take him out of the play and replace him with tight end Rodney Williams.
Washington was never a great route runner in college and wasn’t overly dynamic in that area of his game, at least getting into and out of breaks. He’s raw there and has largely struggled to get open in camp.
But now, the pads come on and his size and physicality will emerge rather quickly. At least, that’s the hope. That should start in the red zone, where Pickett said he can’t wait to work with Washington.
Coming out of Georgia, Washington was viewed as a serious red zone threat due to his size, catch radius and overall physicality. Now, he gets a chance to not only show that, but also show off his prowess as a run blocker. Very quickly, Washington can turn things around with the pads on. It helps he should get some reps with Pickett, too, rather than working with the likes of Mason Rudolph and Tanner Morgan.
With those reps will come chemistry and comfort. Hopefully that connection between Pickett and Washington is a sign of things to come moving forward.
