Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington revealed on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast that his welcome to the NFL moment came at the hands of future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt.
“Coming into the league, (I was a) blocking tight end. That’s kind of like what I harped on. Blocking tight end. Me not being able to block someone, that’s when I get in my head and that’s when you kind of kill my confidence a little bit,” Washington explained. “One was T.J. (at) training camp, my first year. It was a run game portion, grab grass. If you know you know. I go against T.J., he beats me in like 0.5 seconds. It was quick. Mike [Tomlin] was like, ‘Nah, run it back. Run it back.’ We lined up again and he beats me in 0.05 seconds again. So, I was just like, ‘Bro, what I’m I doing wrong?’ I’m just in [Steelers tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts’] head, like, ‘Coach me, what I’m I doing?’ I think we ran it back and he just beat me again. So Mike T was like f**k it. You know, next person at that point.”
Washington got a nice payday earlier this month, signing a four-year, $42 million contract extension. Head coach Mike McCarthy is thrilled to have the big tight signed through 2030.
“He’s a complete Y tight end. I’ve been so impressed with him,” McCarthy said at OTAs. “To have a tight end that can line up next to the tackle and block a defensive end, that’s not been the norm in the last couple of decades in the National Football League. He gives you the ability to play under center offense the way it was played in the ’90s. That’s something I’m looking forward to. But he’s done everything else. He’s been here every day during the offseason program. He’s been a pro. His attention to detail in the meetings. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but I’ve been impressed with his work ethic. He’s a problem, a matchup problem. He’s a matchup problem in the pass game, especially in the red zone. Third-down situations, so he has a lot of value. A lot of value for our offense.”
The 6-foot-7 and over 300-pound Washington has been a stellar blocker since he first joined the Steelers out of Georgia in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and he has grown as a receiver in each of his three pro seasons.
Last year, he set career highs with 43 targets, 31 receptions, 364 yards and one touchdown, an average of 8.5 yards per target and 11.7 yards per touch.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Darnell Washington Reveals Welcome to NFL Moment: ‘Coach Me, Like What I’m I Doing?’
