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Snap Counts: Darnell Washington Falls to 3rd in Steelers TE Pecking Order

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6 months ago

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Steelers TE Darnell Washington
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington at practice on Oct. 27, 2023. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

One week might be a blip, but two weeks is a trend, and it’s pretty clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot more faith in second-year tight end Connor Heyward than rookie Darnell Washington with Pat Freiermuth out.

In fact, in the team’s Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was Rodney Williams, not Darnell Washington that was second in the pecking order. With Freiermuth on injured reserve from his hamstring injury, Heyward again was the runaway leader with 49 offensive snaps. Williams was second with 12. Washington was dead last with 10 — down from 32 the previous week.

Part of that was an overall reduction in the number of tight end snaps. Against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, wide receiver Diontae Johnson was in his first game back from a hamstring injury of his own, and he had about half of his usual workload. Tight ends picked up the slack. Sunday, Johnson played 61 snaps out of 67 for the offense. So with Johnson back to 100%, that left fewer opportunities for the tight ends.

But it’s still clear that it’s Heyward and then Washington and Williams in a near heat. Head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the disparity and said the game situation, with the Steelers trailing throughout, made them do some things that were not necessarily their intention.

“Just how the game was unfolding,” Tomlin said. “We were down multiple scores, particularly late. Rodney played a lot there, when we were in the one-dimensional phase, if you will. Sometimes snap counts don’t always reflect intentions from a planning standpoint. It’s probably more a reflection of how the game unfolded.”

It’s clear that the Steelers don’t see Washington as much of a receiving threat. He’s played 190 snaps, with 108 of them coming on running plays. Sixteen more, he was assigned to pass block. That leaves 66 routes run for Washington this season and he has been targeted just three times — with one catch.

Compare that to Williams, who started the season on the practice squad. He has played 27 snaps: 17 runs, 10 pass, none as a pass blocker. In those 10 routes run, he has already been targeted twice.

Williams was a practice squad stash, and while he does possess talent, the Steelers invested a third-round pick Washington with the idea that he could be much more than a giant blocker. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

STEELERS OFFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS

Pos Player SF CLE LV HOU BAL LAR JAX
QB Kenny
Pickett		 63 54 62 49 66 59 28
QB Mitch Trubisky 0 0 0 10 0 0 39
QB Mason Rudolph EQB EQB EQB EQB EQB EQB EQB
RB Najee
Harris		 33 31 31 29 37 34 35
RB Jaylen
Warren		 25 23 28 29 32 27 32
RB Anthony McFarland 5 IR IR IR IR IR IR
RB Qadree
Ollison		 — 0 1 — — — —
RB Godwin Igwebuike — — INA INA INA 0 0
WR George
Pickens		 56 46 55 58 58 53 62
WR Allen
Robinson II		 56 47 50 50 57 38 46
WR Calvin Austin III 35 41 45 53 37 7 18
WR Diontae Johnson 27 IR IR IR IR 39 61
WR Miles
Boykin		 5 4 8 6 12 0 5
WR Gunner Olszewski INA 1 INJ INA 4 — —
TE Pat
Freiermuth		 32 41 49 30 INJ IR IR
TE Darnell Washingon 24 26 29 25 46 31 10
TE Connor Heyward 17 10 13 15 37 51 49
TE Rodney Williams II — — — — 4 11 12
LT Dan
Moore Jr.		 63 54 62 8 INJ 59 66
RT Chukwuma Okorafor 59 54 62 59 66 59 67
LG Issac
Seumalo		 63 54 62 59 66 59 67
RG James
Daniels		 63 54 62 INJ INJ 59 67
C Mason
Cole		 63 54 62 59 66 59 67
OT Broderick
Jones		 4 0 0 51 66 0 5
OT Dylan
Cook		 INA INA INA 0 0 INA INA
C/G Nate
Herbig		 0 0 0 59 66 0 0
OL Spencer Anderson 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
OL Ryan McCollum — — — — 0 — —

STEELERS DEFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS

Pos Player SF CLE LV HOU BAL LAR JAX
DT Larry
Ogunjobi		 43 51 49 46 48 49 53
DT Montravius Adams 34 52 47 41 56 46 49
DE DeMarvin
Leal		 26 39 33 21 INJ 23 14
NT Keeanu
Benton		 29 28 21 29 33 19 30
DT Armon
Watts		 INA 22 18 34 18 17 28
DT Isaiahh Loudermilk 31 14 9 13 13 0 9
DT Cam
Heyward		 14 IR IR IR IR IR IR
NT Breiden
Fehoko		 — INA INA INA 0 INA INA
OLB T.J.
Watt		 48 70 59 62 60 57 56
OLB Alex
Highsmith		 49 68 52 63 61 53 63
OLB Markus
Golden		 25 19 20 13 14 14 14
OLB Nick
Herbig		 16 17 13 4 5 12 9
ILB Cole
Holcomb		 53 78 53 63 64 56 64
ILB Kwon
Alexander		 47 52 47 27 31 47 38
ILB Elandon Roberts 29 27 17 42 29 19 31
ILB Mark
Robinson		 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
CB Patrick
Peterson		 67 85 71 71 63 67 71
CB Levi
Wallace		 67 78 67 71 66 49 INJ
CB Joey
Porter Jr.		 7 14 27 10 28 53 59
CB James
Pierre		 0 0 0 0 0 2 9
CB Chandon Sullivan 13 47 18 21 24 22 28
CB Desmond
King		 0 0 1 — —
FS Minkah Fitzpatrick 68 46 72 71 70 68 8
S Damontae Kazee 49 77 53 34 43 58 67
SS Keanu
Neal		 33 61 41 45 42 17 69
SS Miles
Killebrew		 0 2 1 0 1 0 12
DB Elijah
Riley		 0 10 0 0 0 0 0
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