If you had to sit down and come up with a game plan to limit the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, there are a few names that come to mind before you get to TE Darnell Washington. But it’s the guy Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter mentioned in his press conference Thursday ahead of their game against the Steelers.
A reporter asked if there were any specific ways to limit a big target like Washington in the passing game, likely because he scored his first career touchdown last week and the Steelers’ only touchdown of the season.
“I don’t want to make it public,” Minter wrote in the video. Chargers YouTube Page. “But they utilize everyone well on offense. Great receivers, obviously different tight ends, different style tight ends that all do different things well. He’s definitely a big guy, so he’s a really good in-line blocker. He protects the edge well, and then he sways and is a matchup problem because of his size. [and] “Catch radius.”
It’s a bit odd to talk about Washington as a matchup problem in the receiving game, given his lack of utility in that area during his rookie season, but he’s starting to turn into an option in certain situations. He had just seven receptions for 61 yards last season, but he already has two receptions for 10 yards and a touchdown this year.
The touchdown came on a play where he was lined up wide as a receiver near the left sideline. The Broncos covered him with S PJ Locke, who is 5-10, 202 pounds, and Washington scored on a back-shoulder pass from Justin Fields that was fairly easy to catch. Washington is 6-7, 264 pounds, so he had 9 inches, 62 pounds on the safety trying to cover him. That’s a mismatch.
There seems to be a plan for a scenario that Minter doesn’t want to reveal in his press conference. In addition to his receiving ability, they should know him as a blocker. The Steelers have already lined up Washington in eight different positions in their formation this year, according to a chart from Pro Football Focus.
He’s likely to be a big part of the Steelers’ game plan this week, helping to contain the Chargers’ stellar trio of edge rushers in Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and Bud Dupree. That’s exactly the kind of mismatch headache opposing defensive coordinators expected when the Steelers used a third-round pick on Washington last year.
