The weekend arguably could not have gone any better for the Pittsburgh Steelers. General Manager Omar Khan continued his impressive first year in his role with some phenomenal picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Everyone around the NFL has noticed, as the Steelers earned "A" grades from several of the top draft experts. Of course, it's still way too early, but initially, the class does look good.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Cornerback Patrick Peterson was one of the Steelers' biggest signings in the 2023 free agency period.
Tight end wasn't necessarily seen as a prevalent need for the black and gold, but one guy stuck out to the scouting department. Darnell Washington was the only tight end that they met with in their 30 allocated pre-draft visits. That was notable, as his huge size and athleticism was too intriguing to not look at. On his podcast All Things Covered, cornerback Patrick Peterson shared his overall thoughts on the team's draft, which he loved:
"Man, Darnell Washington. To me, I thought that was the steal of the draft. Knowing the history of the draft, those third-rounders come out to be special for some odd reason."
Washington somehow slid to the team at No. 93 overall in the late third-round. In my last mock draft, I had Pittsburgh taking Washington with the 32nd overall pick. That's a 61 pick difference. Khan revealed they deeply considered drafting him with their pick at No. 80 before eventually trading back to No. 93 with the Carolina Panthers. Now, it did later come out that teams were concerned about his knees, thus explaining the fall a little bit.
Jordan Schofield / Steeler Nation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers 2022 sixth-rounder Connor Heyward will play more than just tight end in his second NFL season.
Still, Khan got tremendous value there on Friday night. While TE didn't seem to be a huge need, the move makes some sense after further explanation. First of all, the team will play Connor Heyward as more of a fullback in 2023, as he's more of a movable chess piece than the backup tight end. With Derek Watt gone, there is an opening at fullback. While Pat Freiermuth has become one of the best receiving tight ends in football, he still struggles in the blocking department.
Steelers TE room now very deep
Additionally, Freiermuth has now had three serious concussions in his first two NFL seasons. One more, and this could become a real long-term issue. As the Steelers work to get back to their old-school style, selecting Washington was a no-brainer. He brings more toughness and physicality to a unit that has already added plenty of that this offseason. While Zach Gentry was brought back for his blocking, he doesn't bring much more than that and he's not viewed as a long-term piece.
While he wasn't overly productive in his time at Georgia, Washington has a potential that hasn't yet been reached. In 27 games across three years, he had just 774 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He did also have to be a backup to Brock Bowers, who is seen as a lock to be a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Bowers is seen as the best tight end prospect in years, so it's less of a concern as to why Washington didn't start in college.
What are your expectations in Washington's first NFL season? Do you think he will become the steal of the draft? Are you concerned about teams avoiding him due to knee concerns? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
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