Rookie Darnell Washington embraces blocking but vows to be weapon for Steelers, too
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Clearing up a possible misconception first, Darnell Washington let it be known that his vehicle’s registration makes no reference to the blurred lines regarding his potential NFL positional flexibility.
His license plate does not, as coach Mike Tomlin had jokingly referenced, read, “Sixth Offensive Lineman.”
But at 6-foot-7 and a stout 264 pounds, Washington not only looks the part, he says he also embraces the role. Those who pass him on the highway might not see “6TH OL-MAN” stamped in steel, but when it comes to his career as a Pittsburgh Steeler, Washington is OK with verbalizing it as such.
“Hey man,” Steelers first-round pick and former college teammate Broderick Jones said this week of Washington, “he doesn’t call himself the sixth lineman for no reason.”
And that’s fine with the Steelers. For an organization that signed three offensive linemen in free agency, traded up to draft a left tackle in Jones with the 14th overall pick two years after selecting a bruising running back in the first round, taking who was generally considered the draft’s best blocking tight end with the 93rd pick was a no-brainer.
“That is his game: He thinks of himself as a lineman,” said Jones, who often lined up next to Washington during Georgia’s run to a second consecutive national title this past year. “That’s how he plays. He plays physical. He’s nasty. Yes, he is an athlete, he can go out and catch the ball, but the best part of his game is the way he blocks.”
Ok, #87 here (Rodney Williams) is 6-4, 235
Just to get an idea how large Darnell Washington (80) is pic.twitter.com/zDFUyvdukE
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 12, 2023
It wasn’t always necessarily that way for Washington, a Las Vegas native. Though he dabbled in soccer and — of course — basketball, Washington said football was his true love from the age of 6 or 7. He said he didn’t play the sport, however, until he was 11.
“I am the baby in the family,” Washington said at rookie minicamp this weekend, “so my mom was like, ‘I don’t want you to get hurt.’”
Even while playing “up” in age group, Washington said he played offensive line for his first youth team because “I was the biggest.”
As the years went on, in addition to holding down a spot on his teams’ defensive line, Washington bumped around from tackle to wide receiver to running back, even as he entered Desert Pines High School as a 6-4, 238-pound freshman. An extra inch and 10 pounds, Washington said, came his sophomore year.
Washington ultimately took basketball out of the picture — and defense, too.
“I just prefer offense,” said Washington, who became the consensus No. 1 tight end recruit in the country for the class of 2020. “Kind of just where my heart is.
“Make blocks, that’s where my heart is.”
But Washington said he doesn’t want to pigeon-hole himself into merely being that “sixth offensive lineman.”
And he would seem to have the abilities to be a weapon as a receiver, too. No tight end in college football who had as many targets as Washington had a better yards-per-catch average (16.2) last season. Over the past two years, Washington caught 38 of the 55 balls thrown his way.
But with Brock Bowers — generally considered the nation’s top receiving tight end — as part of a loaded Georgia offense with myriad weapons, Washington often fell into his role as that sixth lineman.
“I feel like everybody in college wants the ball more,” Washington said. “Just a better opportunity, an easier way to get to the next level. But I, for me, when I wasn’t getting the ball more, I have to embrace something. And if I am not getting the ball, what am I doing? I’m blocking. So I just started embracing that more. And just kind of how that went from there.”
No tight end in the country who was targeted as many times as Washington was in 2022 had a better average yards per catch average (16.2)https://t.co/gxrBQoT2Ji
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 3, 2023
The Steelers have made no secret of their desire to run a power offense this season. But with that in the modern NFL, defenses counter-adjust their personnel by adding bigger bodies, the Steelers potentially could exploit this with Washington.
After all, if he is as good a blocker as advertised, that could be a boon for Najee Harris and the running game. But if opponents overadjust with extra run-stuffers who aren’t as adept in coverage, Washington’s route-running and athleticism could make them pay.
At least that’s the hope for the Steelers.
With no pads and no veterans, rookie minicamp isn’t the time these questions are going to be answered. But one positive to take away from the three-day introduction to pro football for Washington was he showed zero visible signs of any injury or hindrance. There was a school of thought that his tumble in the draft from projected late-first round pick to the end of Round 3 was because of medicals.
Washington was by all indications a full participant in all drills, and videos taken by media show the moving he did was fluid, nimble and powerful. (Media are only permitted to take photos or video during the early portions of practice).
“I don’t know what the future holds yet,” Washington said after the first on-field work of his NFL career, “but I am just here to do my job to the best of my ability and just go from there.”
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