Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski offered quite the bold prediction for Pittsburgh Steelers rookie TE Darnell Washington on Up And Adams today. Asked by host Kay Adams a team he thinks will prove people wrong, Gronkowski offered some praise for Pittsburgh and Washington in particular.
“They’ve had a winning record since Coach [Mike] Tomlin’s been there, they have a great defense. Their offense struggled last year, I think they’re gonna pick it up a bit,” Gronkowski said. “Darnell Washington, I think he’s gonna have a great year, I would say he’s gonna put up around 600, 700 yards and help the offense gain some first downs, a couple touchdowns in the red zone.”
Forecasting 600 to 700 receiving yards out of Washington is a pretty outlandish That’s especially so when you consider that he’s probably going to serve in more of a blocking role, with his biggest weaknesses right now being his route running and receiving work. Unlike a lot of rookies though, Washington will play a role for Pittsburgh. He’ll be on the field, but his opportunities will come as a blocker more than a receiver.
He’s still an important piece to Pittsburgh, even if he’s probably the third-best receiving option in his position group alone behind Pat Freiermuth and Connor Heyward. It’s his strength and blocking ability that got him drafted. Anything receiving-wise that comes with that is going to be an added bonus. It’s not a knock on Washington that he probably won’t rack up a lot of yards as a rookie. It’s not going to be his role, but Gronkowski is right that he could be a red zone threat for Pittsburgh.
At 6-foot-7, Washington is able to outjump pretty much any defender he’s going to be up against, so he becomes a nice short-yardage and red zone weapon. He could be someone QB Kenny Pickett looks to as the Steelers look to improve their red zone efficiency from last year.
To Gronkowski’s main point though, the Steelers could certainly be a team that surprises people this year, given they have the longest odds to win the AFC North. While they might not win the division, they should be a playoff team, and I don’t think that’s necessarily the widespread expectation. Given the talent on defense and development and additions on offense, including OL Isaac Seumalo to help anchor the offensive line, the Steelers could definitely be a surprise to some.
Pittsburgh will set out to prove Gronkowski right in just under a month when they take on the San Francisco 49ers at Acrisure Stadium.
