Darnell Washington finally admits a lie that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been telling everyone for years
Darnell Washington finally comes clean on something that has been obvious for years.
Darnell Washington has finally carved out a role within the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense. It only took until his third season, but somehow, in a room that includes a Pro Bowler in Jonnu Smith and a player the Steelers paid handsomely in Pat Freiermuth, Washington has become the go-to target in recent weeks.
And with that, there obviously come more eyeballs. Eyeballs that are amazed at the size of Washington every time he touches the ball. So much so that enough people in the national media have started to question whether Washington’s listed weight of 260 pounds is actually true.
Newsflash, it’s not.
Darnell Washington finally admits his actual playing weight
“Ima keep it a buck…I weigh 311,” laughed Washington via the St.Brown podcast on YouTube.
It’s about time. You can’t sit and watch Washington rumble down the sidelines every week, tossing defenders with the ball in his hands, while also pancaking defensive linemen in the run game, and think that his weight starts with anything less than the number three.
It’s not hyperbole to say that pound for pound, Washington is one of the most valuable players on the Steelers’ offense. He has already set career highs this season in terms of receiving yards and yards per reception, but he has allowed the Steelers to unlock their run game.
Pittsburgh’s go-to run personnel has become the jumbo package. That’s where Spencer Anderson, the team’s backup left guard, comes into the game as a sixth lineman, and alongside Washington, the team employs over 2,100 pounds along the offensive line.
The Steelers’ EPA per play is 0.153 points better, and their success rate is 13 percent higher when rushing the ball in that package compared to any other personnel grouping.
So it seems that Washington has finally found his niche within the Steelers’ offense. And if you ask A to Z Sports NFL Draft analyst Adam Holt, it was only a matter of time.
“Watching Darnell Washington is the embodiment of the ‘man amongst boys’ mantra. The massive tight end has come into his own this season, and he gives the Steelers such a unique piece to their passing game. Jonnu Smith is a much different style of tight end, and Pat Freiermuth has a separate skillset as well. For Washington, you can nearly guarantee positive yardage when the ball is in his hands due to his strength and size.
“I even wonder if Arthur Smith has considered deploying a tush push using him, similar to what the Seahawks do with TE A.J. Barner. Regardless, it’s been super fun to see Washington have a mini-breakout after a couple of seasons in the pros. Often in today’s NFL, players are rushed to make some sort of statistical impact. Patience and a bit of scheme maneuvering have helped him get the opportunities to prove he can succeed at this level for Pittsburgh’s offense.” – Holt
So now, the cat is finally out of the bag, Washington can go on his way dominating as what has to be the only 300+ pound TE in the NFL.
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