The Steelers just committed to TE Darnell Washington on an eight-figure APY salary, and to hear the coaches talk, it’s no surprise. HC Mike McCarthy has a history with tight ends, and OC Brian Angelichio is a former TE coach. Arthur Smith may have been known for his love for the position, but so does this new staff.
And I think that’s obvious, listening to Angelichio talk. While not addressing Darnell Washington specifically, it’s obvious the Steelers have some plans for him. “It’s certainly a position that has morphed into a lot of different ways. But they’re a valuable piece, particularly when you can get tight ends that are able to be a weapon in the pass game”, Angelichio said, via the Steelers’ website.
“That seems to be the starting point now in this league, where those guys are important on third downs, red areas, first, second down in the play-pass game. And they’ve got to be able to block, so the defense has to respect the run game when you’re on the field. They’re valuable players if you can get those tight ends that can really be successful in both”.
While Darnell Washington is not the second coming of Travis Kelce, he offers an intriguing combination as a blocker and catcher. The former is more finely honed, but he has steadily progressed in the latter category. Last season, for example, he caught 31 passes for 364 yards. And if they needed more, he could have given them more.
Mike McCarthy has already talked this offseason about how impressive Darnell Washington has been. And we know that that’s no idle chatter, or he wouldn’t be signed to a long contract extension right now. The Steelers clearly paid him relative to what they expect him to do in the future, more so than what he’s already done. McCarthy may even be retooling his thinking on offense based on what he’s seen from Washington so far.
Of course, he isn’t the only one in the tight end room. The Steelers already committed an eight-figure APY extension to Pat Freiermuth years ago. And frankly, they underutilized him even more than they underutilized Washington last season. At the same time, this is an offense that figures to use 11 personnel more than the Steelers have in years. That might depend, however, on rookie Germie Bernard hitting an accelerated learning curve.
Otherwise, the Steelers have two tight ends they’re confident using with great regularity. At least, that’s what one would think when you’re paying each in excess of $10 million per season. But how will Mike McCarthy and Brian Angelichio balance all the pieces? How will they distribute snaps between Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington with the third receiver role?