The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Why isn’t TE Darnell Washington getting more looks in the pass game with Pat Freiermuth out?
Rookie TE Darnell Washington logged 16 snaps in-route in the first game of his career, though he wasn’t targeted. Since then, he’s only hit double-digit routes run once more, the game before last, the first missed by starter Pat Freiermuth.
This past Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, he only ran a career-low six routes, and needless to say, he wasn’t targeted. Did I mention that Freiermuth was placed on the Reserve/Injured List, and he is going to miss the next three games as well?
Head coach Mike Tomlin and QB Kenny Pickett largely brushed off questions about the Steelers’ lack of production from the tight end position. Both of them referred to individual opponent game planning and noted that each strategy will differ from week to week.
But what does it say about your belief in your available tight ends when you’re hardly using them as receiving options? Yes, they got back WR Diontae Johnson for this game and that took up some extra targets that might have been distributed to other position groups.
But six routes? Granted, Pittsburgh also had a season-low pass plays run, Pickett attempting just 25 passes, but Washington wasn’t even on the field for most of them. This in spite of the fact that he did log a total of 31 offensive snaps.
None of this is to say in any way that he isn’t doing his job. He actually had perhaps his best game of the season in Los Angeles, particularly as a run blocker, with fewer missed assignments and cleaner overall contact. Yet the Steelers were also in the red zone more than they’re used to, and Washington still didn’t get used down there. I thought that’s what we were supposed to be waiting for. If that wasn’t the time to use him, it’s hard to imagine when he will be used.
