Gronk Makes Insane Rookie Prediction for Darnell Washington

You can count former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski is among those that think the Pittsburgh Steelers are being underrated this season, and he gave an incredible prediction for the rookie season of tight end Darnell Washington.

Gronkowski, appearing on Up & Adams with Kay Adams on Wednesday, picked the Steelers when asked to name a team that no one is talking about that will prove people wrong.

“They’ve had a winning record since Coach Tomlin has been there,” Gronkowski said. “They have a great defense. Their offense struggled last year. I think they’re going to pick it up a little bit. Their quarterback, I think he’s going to come through. He’s going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the division.”

As far as rookie tight end Darnell Washington out of Georgia, Gronkowski made an enormous prediction for his first season with the Steelers.

“Darnell Washington, I think he’s going to have a great year,” Gronkowski said. “I would say he’s going to put up around 600 or 700 yards and help the offense gain some first downs, a couple touchdowns in the red zone. He’s 6-foot-7, like 265 pounds and he looks like a freak out there.”

Only nine NFL tight ends had 600 receiving yards in 2022, and only seven had 700 or more yards. One of those was second-year Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth, who had 63 catches of 98 targets for 732 yards and two touchdowns.

That would make for an eye-popping rookie season for the big third-round pick. The best rookie tight end in the NFL in 2022, Tennessee Titans fourth-round Chig Okonkwo, had only 450 yards.

But it’s clear he has the talent to accomplish some of those feats. Check out the absurd catch he made at training camp on Wednesday:

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