Promising Steelers Rookie TE Making First Career Start vs. Ravens

PITTSBURGH — Steelers rookie right end Darnell Washington is set for his first career start against the Baltimore Ravens with usual starting tight end Pat Freiermuth out with a hamstring injury.

Connor Heyward and Rodney Williams will get playing time, too. However, without Freiermuth, Washington is likely to have his highest career snap count with the potential for more receiving opportunities.

It’s something to have your first career start, but it’s entirely another to have that start come in Steelers-Ravens, which will be a pivotal matchup to decide positioning in the AFC North. But Washington has seen big stages. It’s nothing new to him to play in an important rivalry game, especially one as physically revered as Steelers-Ravens.

“It really goes back to, at least in my shoes, the easiest way to put it is: this is the Georgia-Alabama game,” Washington said. “You have a great line, great linebackers, and you draw the line and it’s full go. But I have experience and I know how to wire my mind for something like this.”

The 6-foot-7 tight end impressed throughout training camp as a massive pass catcher who could become a ferocious blocker. So far, the Steelers have let him do the latter, with only one catch coming on the year. The Ravens front is one that has shut down running games so far. But the Ravens land in the top ten in every statistical category. Baltimore allows the third least amount of yards to tight ends in the NFL.

Washington may not find that much success in that area of his game this week, outside of the red zone. But he does believe he can be a mismatch there, even for the Ravens, who carry mismatch chess pieces such as Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton on the back end of their defense. However, if the Steelers want to have a similar performance to their win down in Baltimore a season ago and bully the Ravens up front, look no further than Washington as a player who has to be key in moving bodies up front for the running game to get going.