Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Kenny Pickett is entering his second year as a professional signal-caller and many expect to see a giant leap for the young gunslinger. The Steelers are not only returning every offensive playmaker from 2022, but they're also bringing in young talent from the 2023 NFL Draft. Tight end, Darnell Washington was selected by the team in the third round. Knowing how well Pittsburgh develops tight ends, as well as Pickett's willingness to target the position, Washington should be in store for a great career.
Karl Roser | Pittsburgh Steelers
Darnell Washington (#80) catches a pass at the team's OTA's in Pittsburgh, PA.
Washington played his college career with the Georgia Bulldogs alongside Nick Bowers. In his time with Georgia, he racked up 774 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 45 career receptions. Going into the NFL Combine, Washington was touted as one of the top tight ends in the 2023 class. This was until it was reported he had knee swelling. Furthermore, this would cause the tight end to surprisingly slip on draft night. Due to this, he would fall to the Steelers at the 93rd overall pick.
The Steelers are bringing in a tall, lengthy and athletic tight end. He not only has a good red zone ability to win one on one matchups, but he also excels in run blocking due to his huge size. How big is Washington? The tight end stands at 6'7", 265 pounds, making it virtually impossible to either guard or even shred a block against him.
During the NFL combine, he was able to blow away NFL executives with his blocking ability. He was able to seemingly push the blocking sled as if it weighed nothing, making the efforts of other tight ends look simply silly. With the Steelers tight end room already pretty stacked, it will be interesting to see how they are able to fit Washington into their system.
Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports
University of Georgia tight end Darnell Washington makes incredible one-handed catch at the Combine.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett Looks Forward To Working With New Tight End
On Tuesday morning, Pickett spoke to the media ahead of the team's first padded practice. Jeff Hatthorn of 93.7 The Fan posted a video on his TwitterX account from the media scrum and Pickett was asked about which players he was most excited to work with that he may not have been able to spend a lot of time with yet.
"I'd probably say guys that I haven't worked with like Darnell. He's a guy that I haven't had a lot of reps with, so continuing to build that with him. And we'll get down in the redzone today and I think he will be huge," Pickett continued. "Building off of what we did in the spring. So, he's a guy that I want to continue to work with."
According to Pickett, he believes Washington could be a big target for him in 2023 and beyond. Don't be surprised to see Pickett look for Washington in short play downs or in the red zone. In 2022, Pat Freiermuth was targeted a total of 63 times. Other returning tight ends in Zach Gentry and Connor Heyward were targeted 31 times combined. Pickett, in total, targeted these tight ends a combined 94 times. He will now have to spread the ball potentially between four.
When asked about how he believes Washington is progressing so far, Pickett had nothing but nice things to say about him.
"He's done a great job. Darnell is doing a great job. He's working hard," Pickett told the media. "He's got a lot of stuff going in. I'm sure his minds going a hundred miles per hour. So, it'll slow down for him. I'm just excited about the way he's showing up and working. He's mentally locked in and everything else will come."
Will Heyward Play Tight End?
It will be interesting to see what the Steelers actually do with the tight end position going into the 2023 season. Will there be four tight ends sharing the workload? Or will Heyward move over to the fullback position? It is rumored that the Steelers have interest in moving Heyward to fullback to make up for the "shocking" retirement of rookie fullback, Monte Pottebaum.
Don't be shocked thoug because Heyward did in fact run the ball during his college days with Michigan State. At MSU, he ran the ball a total of 211 times and had 825 yards. Having a player as versatile as Heyward, it gives the offense the ability to be able to give him looks with the ball outside of his true position. Therefore, we might see Heyward take control of the fullback position in 2023.
Abigail Dean / Steelers
Connor Heyward is tackled by defensive back Chris Steele in a drill at Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College.
Steelers Tight End Room Will Be Exciting
As we shift back to the tight end room, it will be exciting to see how much of a role Washington will be able to play in 2023 for the Steelers. Seeing Pickett excited to work with him should make all of Steeler Nation excited, as the sky is the limit for the huge target and blocker in Washington.
What role will Washington play in the Steelers offense in 2023? Will he be exclusively a blocker? Or will he be lined up one on one in the red zone to be able to high point a pass? Leave your thoughts on Washington down below in the comments!
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