Player: TE Darnell Washington
Stock price: rising
reasoning: A year and a half into his career, Darnell Washington is starting to realize the vision many Steelers fans had for him. He’s not contributing much to the passing game, but now he’s got a chance to make plays. And he continues to improve as a blocker, having the best game of his career.
It would be nice to have a simpler means of quantifying blocking statistically. You can see “pancake” statistics kept by random people or media outlets, but applying them consistently across the NFL is currently impossible. And that’s a gray area that can be very subjective in some cases. But I’m still convinced that Darnell Washington eats more pancakes than most tight ends.
See, it’s true that it’s harder to find a good block than it is to discover a good block. When watching soccer, spectators naturally follow the ball, but blockers cannot catch it. In that sense, it’s good to see Darnell Washington in particular getting more opportunities in the passing game.
Now, Washington only had one target last week, and he had a 29-yard catch and run. However, it is also an accumulation of opportunities that usually has an upward trend. In just eight games he has already achieved more goals than last season. He currently has 10 catches on 12 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown. And he made some big plays, including showing obstruction with a stiff arm.
The Steelers will never use Darnell Washington as their primary target. That means, other than his usual blocking, nothing can prevent him from getting 25 to 30 catches and a few touchdowns per season. It will be interesting to see what the second half of the season looks like for him as he builds a relationship with Russell Wilson after a bye week.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stock prices rise and fall.. The nature of the assessment varies depending on the time of year, and in-season considerations are often more short-term. Offseason considerations often have broader implications, especially when a player loses a job or a team signs someone. this time of year It’s full of deals.Either minor or major.
Bad games, new contracts, injuries, promotions and many other things affect a player’s value. Think of them as stocks in a speculative market. After a good game, you might feel better about a player, or after a bad game, you might feel worse. Some stock updates will be minor, while others will likely be quite drastic, so keep that in mind. I will do my best to explain its nature in the reasoning section of each column.
