‘LeBron and Shaq’: Darnell Washingon Earns Unique Comparisons

ATLANTA — Welcome to the Darnell Washington show, NFL. Washington is having a quiet preseason from a receiving standpoint, but as a blocker, Washington proves that he is a ferocious player to contend with on the football field. The massive 6-foot-7 tight end served some pancakes on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Darnell Washington 🥞 #Steelers pic.twitter.com/0kXuzktpvS

— Tyler Wise (@TriggeredWise) August 25, 2023

But no matter his play on the field, the athleticism at his size is rare on the NFL field. Usually, 6-foot-6 athletes that are explosive and can run play on a basketball court. Perhaps that is why, whenever making comparisons to anyone else, teammates jump at basketball players before they do football players. Wide receiver Allen Robinson II even noted that Washington often gets compared to LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal before he does any other football player.

“He’s a big dude,” Robinson said. “We compare him to LeBron and Shaq. We can only compare him to basketball players. His size and versatility, those are the kind of things you see on the court.” 

That size and versatilty were bred alongside fellow Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. Washington is the type of in-line blocking tight end that Matt Canada’s offense can only dream of having at its ideal peak. He is a massive tight end who runs a 4.64 and can be a dependable above-the-rim target on vertical-based routes. The Canada offense utilizes seams, crossers, and other vertical routes at the tight end position. Darnell Washington is the natural fit for that role, given his pedigree and polish as a blocker.

So, with two more series under the first-team offense’s belt, it should be little surprise that Washington saw plenty of run with that group. The Steelers are not oblivious that Washington is already the best blocker the room has as a rookie. On Jaylen Warren’s touchdown, he blocked an edge rusher completely off the backside edge. It’s an impressive block from someone who does all the dirty work that most tight ends do not want to do.

But that is what Washington does at his essence, and then there is the untapped potential as a receiver. Washington has not yet shown that in a game setting with the ball in his hands. At times on film, there are flashes that he has far more in his bag than meets the eye. Because as Robinson said, Washington is not an athlete usually seen on the football field. No, football is a game for men with quickness, and oftentimes, especially as a player who catches the football, height is not a requirement to be good. But Washington turns it all on its head. Imagine a basketball athlete playing tight end in the NFL, all the hypotheticals done with various NBA players over the years. That is the type of outlier Washington brings to the Steelers and the NFL overall. And it is why the Steelers were so stunned to get him in the third round.

Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Atlanta.