The Pittsburgh Steelers triumphed over the Las Vegas Raiders on the road on Sunday night, 23-18, to go to 2-1 on the season. For many of Pittsburgh’s rookies, Sunday night was a big game as they received the most snaps they’ve seen on the season. That was the case for rookie TE Darnell Washington, who played 29 offensive snaps, seeing time on nearly 50% of Pittsburgh’s offensive plays.
The Film
When going back through the film on Washington’s performance, there’s virtually nothing there in terms of the passing game. He did go out on a few routes in the contest, but again went without a catch as he is still searching for his first NFL reception. On this rep, Washington may have been in position to get that first reception as he set up in the middle of the field on a stop route. However, QB Kenny Pickett took his eyes off him as he left the pocket, extending the play to find WR Allen Robinson II along the sideline as Washington tried to find space in the zone coverage.
As was his calling card at the University of Georgia, Washington has mainly been relied upon as a big, physical blocker in heavy personnel sets thus far. He saw plenty of reps Sunday night against the Raiders’ base defensive ends, including EDGE Maxx Crosby on this rep, but he represented himself well, having the size, strength, and athleticism to match up with them. Watch as Washington gets his hands inside Crosby’s chest at the start of the rep. He catches Crosby getting off-balance, driving him backward as RB Najee Harris gets to the outside with Washington shoving Crosby to the ground at the end of the play.
Washington’s sheer size and length as a blocker make him a viable matchup against bigger base edge defenders compared to other tight tends like Pat Freiermuth, having the long arms to engage defenders and keep them off his frame. Here’s another example against DE Isaac Rochell. Washington gets into Rochell on the snap, but Rochell beats Washington by getting his hands inside Washington’s chest. Still, Washington is big enough and strong enough to drive him back a couple of yards as Rochell tries to defeat the block. He eventually sheds Washington but only after the play is over.
Pittsburgh ran plenty of heavy, three-tight end sets against Las Vegas on with only minimal success to show for it. The Raiders responded by stacking the box as well as playing with five-man defensive fronts, making it difficult for the running backs to get to the second level of the defense. Washington did show some promise in these situations, like on this reach block on DL Jerry Tillery, turning the defender’s shoulders away from the play as Harris runs right up his back for a few yards. Washington likely got away with a holding call as his right hand latched onto the outside of Tillery’s shoulder, but no flag was thrown as Washington ran Tillery off the ball and finished on top of him at the end of the play.
Still, there are some areas of Washington’s game that he does need to clean up from a mental aspect as well as a technique standpoint. Here is another example out of a 13 personnel look from Pittsburgh. Washington lunges into his block attempt on Crosby with his head down and shoulders well over his feet, having no balance or base to block the star pass rusher. Crosby easily sheds Washington to the side upon contact, getting in on the tackle as Harris is swarmed by a host of Raiders on the play.
On this rep we see Washington attempt to double team Tillery with Freiermuth and then work up to LB Robert Spillane. However, DB Nate Hobbs comes off the edge untouched and hits Harris in the backfield for a loss on the play. It was a poorly schemed run play from the start, But Washington likely could’ve chipped Tillery and picked up Hobbs, who had a straight path to the football, rather than attempting to get Spillane who was further off the line of scrimmage.
Conclusion
It was an alright performance for Washington whose measurables pop off the screen in his wins and lack of technique and execution can frustrate you in his losses. He wasn’t as dominant as a blocker as you’d like to see against Las Vegas relative to the expectations placed on him coming out of Georgia. But the entire offensive line has struggled thus far consistently executing to carve out running lanes for the backs.
Washington’s lack of involvement in the passing game through three games is also frustrating. But that comes with the territory with being the second tight end on the depth chart with multiple receivers and running backs involved in the passing game as well. Regardless, you’d want to see Washington’s impact as a run blocker as well as a pass catcher improve in the coming weeks as Pittsburgh’s tight ends haven’t been playing up to expectations.
The tight end position normally develops slowly over time with very few making a notable impact during their rookie season. Washington is still getting his feet wet when it comes to the nuances of the game as a route runner as well as in different blocking schemes, but he is seeing the snaps consistently on offense to showcase his continued development over the next several weeks.
