Steelers Now
Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski sees a lot of similarities of his game in Darnell Washington. I
t makes sense as the Pittsburgh Steelers big tight end bulldozes defenders like how Gronk used to.That’s certainly high praise to get from one of the best tight ends to ever play the game.
“I look back at some of my highlights and I say it to my friends sometimes, ‘Why did people love me so much when I played the game of football?’ Like i would get a catch and everyone would be in awe. It’s because I was the biggest man, the biggest guy in the whole NFL, running down the seam and running by DBs and linebackers, like I was a little guy out there on the football field. And that’s what made understand that question,” Gronkowski said.
“Now who also is making me realize that is Darnell Washington. Every time he catches the ball for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I’m so intrigued. I just cheer him on so much because I love seeing him run someone over and just how big and nimble he is for how big he is. Over 300 pounds. I mean, he’s not that fast and he’s not going to produce a crazy amount But whenever he does catch the ball, I’m just so in love with it.
“And it kind of relates back to me. OK, now I understand why the fans went so crazy because I was the biggest guy out on the field as well. But I wasn’t just running little routes, I was running down the field, I was running up the seam, making 30-yard bombs look like I’m just a little guy. Yes, I do see now that being that big and playing the game of football how I played was just kind of intriguing to fans.”
You'll NEVER guess which current TE reminds Gronk of himself…@RobGronkowski | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/1PMk7lgXJB
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) December 18, 2025
Washington is a gigantic human being, standing at 6-foot-7, 311 pounds. He also revealed this offseason that he lost 10-15 pounds, so he was nearly 330 pounds at one point.
“Mount Washington,” a fitting nickname for the big tight end out of Georgia, had a banner day in the Steelers’ 34-12 win over Cincinnati on Sunday, recording four receptions for 67 yards (16.8 average).
Kyle Brandt of NFL Network named Washington as the Week 11 Angry Runs winner for his viral play against the Bengals when he bulldozed through three defenders.
Washington was nominated three times for his 31-yard catch and run, one time for each of the Bengals defenders he demolished. It’s the first time one player swept the finalist nominations.
“Way too big of a dude to be running like that,” Brandt said. “This was the Godfather trilogy of runs, except he stuck the landing on part three.
“There are some guys in the league that had really good Angry Runs...
