The Pittsburgh Steelers saw a mismatch.
They lined up five-wide near the goal line with Aaron Rodgers in the shotgun. The New Orleans Saints‘ defense was spread out. And out wide to the left stood Darnell Washington and Kool-Aid McKinstry.
McKinstry is a talented cornerback.
Washington is a humongous tight end.
Rodgers went for it, throwing a bit of a lob pass over toward Washington. It wasn’t in a great spot, but it didn’t stop Washington.
Washington reeled in the touchdown with pretty much one hand, and the Steelers led 10-3.
You have to watch this:
Darnell Washington is ridiculous. How? https://t.co/vhnWsGDjFY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 25, 2026
One Saints reporter was particularly in awe:
What took so long for Steelers to use Darnell Washington this way? The 6-7, 264-pound TE had just two career TD catches through his first 55 NFL games.
He now has 3 in the last 4 games.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 25, 2026
Washington is even bigger than those listed numbers, too.
What Does Darnell Washington Weigh?
Washington shared last season that he weighs 311 pounds.
Yep, only 47 pounds more than his listed weight of 264 pounds.
He joined the St. Brown Podcast and revealed this truth.
“I ain’t finna cap to y’all,” Washington began, acknowledging he was about to tell the truth. “I ain’t weigh myself in a minute… OK, OK, I’m gonna give it a buck. I’m 311.”
The Steelers’ tight end coach had already revealed in 2024 that Washington weighed more than 300 pounds, so the 264 has felt silly for a while.
How Tall is Darnell Washington?
Washington’s official listed height is 6-foot-7.
Darnell Washington 40 Time
At the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, Darnell Washington ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds, which is quite impressive at his size.
The Steelers ended up picking Washington in the third round, No. 93 overall, in the 2023 draft.
And lately, including against the Saints, the Steelers have realized that throwing the ball to Washington in the red zone is a great idea.
It just came at the expense of Kool-Aid McKinstry on Sunday.
Enter Heavy's 2026 Pro Football Pick'em contest
Billy Heyen Billy Heyen is a Heavy contributor with focus on the NFL and MLB. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive work for The Sporting News, the Sandusky Register and Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. More about Billy Heyen
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