Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin referenced rookie TE Darnell Washington as a “sixth lineman” after they drafted him, saying figuratively that he has that on his license plate. While that might not be literally true, it was in his profile on social media.
The point is, the Steelers were attracted to him because of his most obvious attribute—his size and physicality. At 6-foot-7, 264 pounds, he looks the part as he’s moving defenders on the field. Watching him work a blocking sled in comparison to any other tight end in OTAs or back during the NFL Scouting Combine is like night and day.
So it’s no surprise that Day Four of training camp—the first day in pads—was such a big day for the rookie. And it’s no surprise that Tomlin threw him right into the fire in the backs-on-backers drill, in which running backs and tight ends are tasked with blocking linebackers in a one-on-one pass-rushing drill heavily slanted in favor of the rusher. He won his two reps against OLB T.J. Watt. Was Tomlin pleased?
“You know, for today”, he told reporters after practice, via the team’s website. “He’s got a certain skill set, his reputation precedes him, and we’re gonna make him confirm it every day”.
And he wasn’t kidding. He reportedly told him, “Every time I see [Watt], 80, I want to see you. Just come over here and stand by him”. Eighty, of course, is Washington’s jersey number. Tomlin wants to put him on Watt as often as is feasible in a training camp setting.
What better way to acclimate yourself to the talent level you’ll be expected to face in the NFL? When healthy, Watt’s the best in the game, and he’s healthy now. Washington isn’t going to have the same sort of success against him every day, that’s for sure. And Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig both did get the better of him a bit later on in the drill.
The third-round pick did come down with a touchdown later on in team drills off an extended play from QB Mitch Trubisky, successfully utilizing his size to box out the defender, in this case a 6-foot-2 cornerback in James Pierre.
Those are some fine materials to start building from. Get a couple of wins against Watt under your belt and a touchdown boxing out a defender and you start to build confidence. Washington got off to a rocky start in training camp last week. Now with the physicality dimension set to become a daily feature, he’ll be more in his element, and his all-around game will prosper for it.
That’s the player the Steelers brought him in to be. That’s the reputation Tomlin alluded to that got him drafted in Pittsburgh. Of course they’re going to want to test him and let him know exactly what they’re expecting him to be when he’s out there on the field for them.
