Player: TE Darnell Washington
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Darnell Washington might not be seeing many targets, but he is a vital part of the Steelers’ offense this year. He has played more snaps this year than has Pat Freiermuth, and both have been healthy. On Tuesday, HC Mike Tomlin seemed to hint that Washington’s larger role will be ongoing.
The Steelers were positively giddy when they had the opportunity to draft TE Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and that love affair hasn’t subsided. It’s worth remembering how HC Mike Tomlin introduced him to Steelers fans, calling him a sixth lineman. That’s how they’re using him, and even he admits playing tackle could be in his future.
For now, he is just a little bigger, less mobile tight end. Clocking in somewhere around 300 pounds, Washington has the size the Steelers covet for exterior blocking. Although teams will occasionally leave a tight end one-on-one to block a defensive end, Pittsburgh doesn’t even think twice about doing that with him.
In their last game, the Steelers ran Darnell Washington heavily, including in a package coupled with OL Spencer Anderson as an extra lineman. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tomlin described it as a counter to 4-3 teams. And he basically said you can expect more of that when they play such fronts—like the Browns and Bengals.
While Washington would very much like to contribute more in the passing game—it’s something he talked about a lot this offseason—he also understands his role. He even talked about his blocking ability being a bit of a curse, masking his ability to contribute as a receiver. But the thing is, the more time you spend on the field, the better chance you have of finding the ball. He’s getting on the field now, and contributing to the team’s success. Perhaps they’ll reward him with more targets, but for now, defenses are worrying about him slowing their rush down.
With regular season on the way and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of thatchange the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency andthe 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing . What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
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