The last four times new Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers made the Pro Bowl (and won two MVPs), he was with the Green Bay Packers. Those four years also coincided with the arrival of TE Marcedes Lewis. Lewis spent five seasons with the Packers, and he left quite the impression on Rodgers. But one of Rodgers’ new teammates, TE Darnell Washington, is making a similar impression.
Lewis may never have been one of the best tight ends in the league, but he averaged 11.7 yards per catch over his career (despite averaging only 6.2 yards per catch over the last two seasons). And he was undoubtedly a large target at 6-6, 267 pounds. But Darnell Washington is still bigger.
And Aaron Rodgers seems to appreciate what all that means for him as the quarterback.
“I told Darnell today, I haven’t had a tight end like him since Marcedes,” said Rodgers in his first press conference as a member of the Steelers, per the team’s YouTube channel. “Marcedes, all-time great. Darnell is like a young Marcedes, able to do things in the passing game, dominate the line of scrimmage.”
Evidently, Marcedes Lewis is a player near and dear to Aaron Rodgers. Darnell Washington must have caught Rodgers’ eye and made one heck of an impression. It’s hard for people not to stop and look at Washington. He weighed somewhere north of 300 pounds last season. That’s offensive tackle territory, not tight end numbers. Yet he averaged 10.5 yards per catch. And he’s responsible for one of the craziest displays of athleticism you’re likely ever to see. A human being that tall and big moving like that? Not supposed to happen.
Darnell Washington with the stiff arm AND the hurdle!
📺: #PITvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/LPVP4kNlp3— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
Darnell Washington is anything but a normal human being. That goes for the vast majority of NFL players, but it seems to be even more so for Washington. And now, Washington says he dropped some weight, which led to QB Mason Rudolph, who was with the Steelers during Washington’s rookie season, saying he looks quite different.
Darnell Washington has not seen much in the way of targets in his first two seasons, with only 35. He’s been behind TE Pat Freiermuth, so of course, the target numbers would be lower. But if Aaron Rodgers is talking Washington up like this, perhaps 2025 will be his best season yet.
And maybe Aaron Rodgers can help Darnell Washington become an all-time great.
