Through the years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have become absolute masters in the craft of finding skill position players offensively on Day 2 and Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Every single year, it feels like Pittsburgh is bringing in one of the NFL Draft community’s favorite prospects well beyond where they were supposed to get drafted. This team has done exceptionally well finding skill players offensively beyond round one, and the 2023 NFL Draft was no different.
The rest of the NFL is probably going to regret allowing the Steelers to land this particular player in the 2023 NFL Draft class, however. One of the deepest position groups this year was at tight end. There was value at this position group in every round, especially beyond round one. Depending on who you asked leading up to the NFL Draft process, arguably the best tight end in a class absolutely loaded with future NFL starters was Darnell Washington out of Georgia.
Pittsburgh Steelers got lucky with the fall of Darnell Washington
Even after drafting Pat Freiermuth out of Penn State back in 2021, the Steelers aren’t going to pass up on the chance to draft a great bargain like Washington, who fell to the back end of the third round due to some apparent concerns over his pre-draft medical testing. You certainly wouldn’t know there were any medical issues just looking at Washington, or watching his pre-draft workout at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
Washington scored an incredible 9.88 on the RAS (Relative Athletic Score) scale out of 10, meaning in terms of size and athleticism, he’s one of the top 15 athletes at the tight end position in the last 30-plus years.
Darnell Washington is a TE prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.88 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 14 out of 1104 TE from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/ky8XbyCwiD pic.twitter.com/LhkqX9xTP8
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 16, 2023
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had this to say about Washington during the pre-draft process:
"In-line tight end with rare size and power at the point of attack to help soften defensive edges up front. Despite sloppy overall technique, Washington can be effective at moving defenders when he’s centered on his block. He must improve his footwork and hand usage, as NFL defenders will slip away from his clutches more easily if he’s unsound. He plods into his routes but catches with above-average focus and can be a handful to bring down. Washington could become a dominant run blocker with better technique, which makes me wonder if a team might give him a look at offensive tackle at some point in his career.Lance Zierlein, NFL.com"
Apparently, there was some division in war rooms during the pre-draft process about the state of Washington’s apparent knee issues. Some teams pulled him from their draft boards, others thought the idea of a draft fall for Washington was “laughable”.
New #Steelers TE Darnell Washington would have gone much higher than late-third round but "medical zonked him," as one scout said. Knee is a concern, and might not be only one, depending on the team. But as that same scout added, 'It's laughable. He will play a long time."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 29, 2023
Unfortunately for other NFL teams, the Steelers were the ones that had the guts to pull the trigger on this guy. At 6-foot-7, 265 pounds, Washington is built like an offensive tackle and the size is not just for show. He blocks exceptionally well and plays in-line, which is something that is rather difficult to find in tight end prospects nowadays.
With the evolvement of the NFL and passing games around the league, it’s become increasingly rare to find guys who can block and catch like tight ends from the 1990s and 2000s. Washington is somewhat of a throwback at the position in that regard, but he’s as complete of a player as they come.
It’s still hard to fathom that NFL teams passed on drafting this guy until the 93rd overall pick. The Steelers got a steal, for lack of a better term, and a first-round player at a heavily discounted rate. It won’t be long before other teams regret passing on him.