If you were forced to sit down and make a game plan to limit the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, there are a few names that would come to mind before landing on TE Darnell Washington. But that is exactly who Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter spoke about during his Thursday press conference ahead of their matchup with the Steelers.
A reporter asked if there is a specific way to limit a big target like Washington in the passing game, likely because of his first career touchdown last week and the Steelers’ only touchdown of the season.
“I’d hate to give that away,” Minter said in a video posted on the Chargers’ YouTube page. “But they do a great job utilizing everybody in their offense. Great receivers, obviously different tight ends, different styles of tight ends that they all do different things well. He’s certainly a huge man, so he is a really good in-line blocker. He’s good securing the edge and then, man, he can flex out and he’s a matchup problem because of his size [and] catch radius.”
It is somewhat odd to be talking about Washington as a matchup issue in the receiving game given his lack of usage in that area over his rookie season, but he is starting to turn into an option in certain situations. He had just seven receptions for 61 yards last season and already has two receptions for 10 yards and a touchdown this year.
The touchdown came on a play where he was lined up wide as a receiver near the left sideline. The Broncos covered him with S P.J. Locke, who is 5-10, 202 pounds, and Washington pretty easily secured the back-shoulder pass from Justin Fields for a score. Washington is 6-7 and 264 pounds, so he had nine inches and 62 pounds on the safety trying to cover him. That is a mismatch.
It sounds like Minter has a plan for that scenario that he obviously didn’t want to reveal in a press conference. Other than his receiving abilities, they definitely have to be aware of him as a blocker. The Steelers have already aligned Washington in eight different spots in the formation this year, per charting from Pro Football Focus.
He will likely be a big part of the Steelers’ game plan this week to help contain the Chargers’ excellent trio of edge rushers in Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, and Bud Dupree. This is exactly the type of mismatch headache for opposing defensive coordinators that was hoped for when the Steelers used a third-round pick on Washington last year.
