Darnell Washington has turned into the NFL’s best blocking tight end bar none, but the 6-7, 311-pounder has the size to kick one slot further inside to become a full-time tackle. And Washington addressed the possibility on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast.
“I for sure gave it some thought,” Washington said. “How I imagine it, if it do come, it would be when I’m done running routes. I still wanna have some fun running routes and getting the ball and doing whatever I do. But I think for me it would probably be later on down the line. And that’s when I eat whatever I want. But as of right now, nah.”
There is really only one player this conversation makes sense for, and it’s Washington. Most tight ends don’t have the size or blocking chops to hold up full-time on the line. Washington has both, but he also strikes fear into opponents as a pass catcher. At tight end, he’s a one-of-a-kind weapon for the Steelers to deploy as a matchup nightmare. At tackle, he would be just another player, albeit one with freakish dimensions.
When Washington was preparing for the NFL Combine that was held in late February 2023, he was 264 pounds. By the time he took his first NFL snap just six months later, he was already 290 pounds. Throughout the course of the next couple years, Washington exceeded and then settled back into a 311-pound playing weight in 2025.
There’s no doubt he has the frame to be an NFL tackle later in his career if he wants. Pittsburgh already had the prototype for that kind of move with Larry Brown in the 1970s and 80s. After six seasons at tight end, he moved permanently to right tackle and played another eight seasons there, including in 1982 when he earned his one and only Pro Bowl selection.
Don’t rule out Washington one day settling into a new home at offensive tackle, but not until his athleticism fades as a receiving threat.
Right now, he’s having way too much fun running defensive backs over.
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