Darnell Washington's selection by the Steelers in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft came as a near-match made in heaven for Matt Canada and his offense.
Already loaded with pass catchers and, in particular, Pat Freiermuth and Zach Gentry among tight ends, Washington will not just be another weapon for Kenny Pickett to use at his disposal; look for his potential biggest benefactors to come from the Steelers' backfield and along the rest of the offensive line.
He considers himself the "sixth offensive lineman," after all.
"Well, Darnell, he is an unusual player," Steelers Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl said Friday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "First with his size, his length, his athleticism and his speed. He is a guy defenses are going to -- it's going to be interesting how they account for him because it's one of the things we talked about in the evaluation process. How are you going to treat him? Because he’s so flexible and versatile in what he can do. He can line up in the slot, he can line up on the line of scrimmage, he is a weapon in the run game. He is a guy you have to account for in the pass game because he has the ability and the speed to clear the second level. He is such a forgiving target and it's a rare catch radius that he has and his ability to adjust to the football. He is just a unique player."
Washington's ability as a pass catcher at Georgia was overshadowed by a couple of factors.
One, Georgia's offense boasted Brock Bowers, who won the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football in 2022 and was a first-team All-American as voted by the Football Writers' Association of America. Bowers led Georgia in receptions (63) and yards (942) while tying for the team lead with seven receiving touchdowns.
Two, Washington's pure ability as a route runner comes off as raw. His most receiving yards in a game is 78, and he has never caught more than five passes in a game. Washington was best served in space down the field, as he averaged 17.2 yards per catch over his college career. Adding into his pass-catching ability is 14 missed tackles and 7.5 yards averaged after the catch in his career at Georgia.
So, with some refinement, there is definitely opportunity for him to work in as a weapon for Pickett -- most prominently in the red zone as a mismatch option. Consider him that sixth offensive lineman who, if he can find some space or create himself a soft spot within the defense, can pull down a rebound inside of the endzone.
"I mean, he could be anything," Canada said after Day 2 of the draft. "Obviously, his size comes into play. We’ve got a lot of good weapons right now. I do believe because of the weapons they had on their team his pass catching total might not be as impressive to some when you look at just stats but that’s what a lot of people do. He does make plays on the ball. He has some run-after-the-catch. He has a couple real impressive highlights running through guys, running over guys. So, yeah, he can be a weapon in different parts of the field. For sure."
This CATCH by Darnell Washington 😳
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) March 5, 2023
The Georgia TE put on a SHOW today at the NFL Combine. pic.twitter.com/OF1n6SPEwH
Washington's best traits are his build and his blocking, hence the nickname. At 6-foot-6, 264 pounds, he stands in a similar stature to Gentry (6-foot-7, 265 pounds) and earned a top-five run blocking grade among tight ends, according to Pro Football Focus, at 81.3. What ever the role might be for him, his best friends within the offense just might become Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and the rest of the Steelers' backfield.
The Steelers were 16th in the NFL in run blocking last season, per PFF, with a collective grade of 58.0.
No tight end had a run blocking grade above 60.0 as Freiermuth led the position with a 59.6, followed by Connor Heyward (55.5) and then Gentry (48.7). There is thought that Heyward could move to fullback (spoiler: he is listed as a tight end and a fullback on the Steelers' team website), which would bring an upgrade in run blocking over Derek Watt, who checked in with a 51.4 overall run blocking grade, per PFF.
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) March 9, 2023
With the anticipation that the run blocking will be improved (with the drafting of Broderick Jones taken into account), this will, surely, also open up play-action opportunities for Pickett and the receiving corps.
Washington has serious potential to be used in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) which would allow Freiermuth to move outside or into the slot.
At least, Canada didn't immediately slam the door shut on that idea.
"I think Pat's a different type of tight end and those two guys, Zach and Darnell, are bigger, more blocking guys," Canada said. "Zach’s made some plays down the field and can catch the ball, but certainly Pat is more known for that, right? I mean, that's why the tight end position, I think there's probably two types, two or three in the game right now. I would say those are different types of players, but we think we can match them up pretty well."
The Steelers attempted just 100 passes in play-action, the fifth-least in the league, while finishing last in the NFL with 602 passing yards as a result of those play-action plays. The Steelers attempted just 64 RPOs last season, and 40 resulted in a pass attempt, ranking eighth and 10th in the AFC, respectively.
"I already know the Steelers have a great tight end room, crazy tight end room at that and now they just added another great one in there," Washington said after he was drafted. "I’m not sure how I’m going to be used but any way possible I’m all for it. If it starts off with special teams, whatever it may be, whatever it is man, I’m all for it. I just recently came from a great tight end room at the University of Georgia. I’m just going to continue to do that and just continue to play my role."
