The Pittsburgh Steelers have the unique luxury of a 6-7, 270-pound (at least) tight end in Darnell Washington who could be a genuine weapon for them in the passing game, but Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin have largely been hesitant to unleash him during the last three seasons.
Even though Washington is behind Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith on the depth chart, he is more than just a lumbering behemoth who isn't skilled enough to be a threat as a pass-catcher. As he proved against the Cincinnati Bengals, he can be a handful to slow down when he gets rolling.
Washington started proceedings off by throwing Bengals rookie linebacker Barrett Carter to the ground in a way that was so cartoony it should have been accompanied by wacky sound effects. Bengals safety Geno Stone tried to tackle Washington, but he ran right through him before lowering his shoulder and hitting cornerback DJ Turner so hard that he knocked him back in the air a few yards.
If plays like this won't convince this coaching staff to give him a bigger share of the targets in the passing game, nothing will. Washington keeps evolving before our eyes.
Darnell Washington should get more touches after Steelers TE has violent big play
Washington only played 25 snaps last week. In his career, when he played over 40 snaps, Pittsburgh has an 8-0 record. That seems to be more valuable than making him an occasional tush push quarterback who gets red zone targets once in a blue moon.
Washington, who came into this game with 14 catches for 142 yards and one touchdown on the season, has some genuinely solid straight-line speed for someone that big. As Stone proved during his tremendous catch-and-run, smaller defensive backs won't have the desire to bring someone that big down.
His blocking is already as good as it gets among the other tight ends in the league, so much so that it feels like the Steelers are always playing in their six offensive linemen jumbo package whenever he is out there. Even beyond 2025, Washington needs to be a part of the offensive furniture.
While it is quite easy to get some highlights against a Bengals defense that stands out as perhaps the worst in the NFL, Washington's hard-charging play might be the wake-up call Arthur Smith needs to make him an even bigger part of this offensive plan of attack.