How much more will a leaner Darnell Washington contribute to the Steelers’ passing game?
Darnell Washington showed up to Steelers spring workouts in much better shape and promised he’d keep working until training camp. He still has another month, so it will be interesting to see what shape he reports in. Entering a crucial third season, he knows what this year could mean for his future.
To that end, he is on record as saying that he wants a bigger role in the passing game and thinks he can do it. Not only has he slimmed down and taken better care of his body, but he is also working at his craft. Speaking to reporters, he discussed the fundamentals and details of his routes. In doing so, he suggested that he never really had an opportunity to do that in college. Better late than never, I suppose.
Now with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, the Steelers are bound to throw the ball more this year. Even with Arthur Smith’s physical offense at play, we should see more pass attempts than any other year since Ben Roethlisberger retired, at least. That’s just what Rodgers brings to the table, throwing 584 passes last year. That’s 85 more passes than the Steelers attempted, of which 25 went to Darnell Washington.
Washington caught 19 of those passes for 200 yards and a touchdown, which is not too shabby. After the catch, he has shown that he can make plays, stiff-arming and even hurdling defenders. If he can create more space in his routes and earn trust with his hands, he can certainly see an appreciable uptick in targets.
But how much of an uptick? The Steelers already have Pat Freiermuth as a receiving tight end, who will also benefit from Rodgers’ presence. They only had one player garner 100-plus targets last year—George Pickens with 103. Even Freiermuth only saw 78, with a hodgepodge of contributions behind them. Washington ranked seventh in targets, and he isn’t likely to be much higher this year.
After all, the Steelers also like to use their running backs in the passing game. Even with Najee Harris gone, that only means more playing time for Jaylen Warren. They are also intrigued by what Kenneth Gainwell can do in that role. So, if Darnell Washington is still seventh on the targets list, how does that translate? Perhaps 35, maybe 40 targets? Of course, the more he does with his targets, the more targets he will earn. The Ravens didn’t say “Thanks, but no thanks” when Isaiah Likely turned them into a two-tight-end offense.
The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. While they ultimately traded George Pickens, they have other decisions to make. The 2025 NFL Draft class is now behind us, so most of the roster construction is complete.
But we still have a long offseason ahead for Steelers football, or football in shorts. At least we can finally put the Aaron Rodgers situation to bed and move on to other things. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go.
