Much has been made of Arthur Smith’s offense and its preference to feature the tight end. On Friday during the Steelers media availability scrum, TE Darnell Washington was asked if Smith’s offense is a tight end’s dream so far in the season.
“I’d like to say, yeah.” Washington said with a smile via the team website. “At least compared to last year. No shade there. But I’m just saying with Arthur’s Smith offense, him coming from ATL and things like that, for sure. Been tight end friendly for a while. He’s a tight end guy. At one point he did Coach tight ends.”
Shade or not, it’s easy to see why Washington is having more fun this year than last season under previous OC Matt Canada.
In 2023, Darnell Washington played in all 17 games, starting seven of them. Through that stretch, he logged seven catches for 61 yards and no touchdowns. In just four games this year, he already has 41 yards and a touchdown. Pat Freiermuth, who the team extended just before the season, is also seeing more involvement this year, as he is on pace to over double his receiving yards and haul in a career-high total with receptions. While neither are looking at prime Travis Kelce-esque numbers, if they both keep on their current track, the position would account for 80 receptions, over 800 receiving yards, and 8 touchdowns. A stark contrast to last season.
With a blue collar coaching resume, Smith coached offensive lines and tight ends before being promoted to offensive coordinator in Tennessee and head coach in Atlanta. When Steelers’ TEs Coach Alfredo Roberts missed a day of training camp, Smith filled in to coach the group. Smith has had tight ends be key pieces of his passing attacks in the past like the Titans’ Delanie Walker and Jonnu Smith.
Maybe if Washington keeps on hurdling his way to big plays, he could be the next stud tight end coached by Arthur Smith.
