The 2023 NFL Draft is here! After months of waiting, we finally know where the 2023 NFL Draft class will land. This information shapes the outlook for rookies in 2023 and beyond. We’re going to have you covered throughout and following the 2023 NFL Draft to help you prepare for your fantasy football leagues. Next up for many will be dynasty rookie drafts. To help you prepare to make your dynasty rookie draft picks, let’s dive into Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft profile as well as Pat Fitzmaurice’s dynasty rookie draft outlook for Darnell Washington.
Dynasty Rookie Picks & Predictions: Steelers Draft Darnell Washington
Let’s first see what NFL Draft expert Thor Nystrom says about Darnell Washington.
Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft Outlook & Player Comp
Player comparison: Martellus Bennett
Darnell Washington is an alien. He’s nearly 6-foot-7 and will play in the NFL at over 270 pounds. He played games in college over 280, and his frame would easily support additional weight if his team ever wanted to try him at offensive tackle. Luckily, there shouldn’t be any need for that – Washington has a shot to be the third first-round tight end taken this spring. He provides huge dual-threat utility in a league moving towards more 12-personnel and formation multiplicity.
Over Washington’s career at Georgia, he played 66.2% of his snaps inline – an extremely high percentage. Washington is a true “third offensive tackle” as a blocker. Edge players who lack power get rag-dolled by Washington. He has the frame, athleticism, length, power, tenacity, and mobility for almost any assignment. Not only that, but Washington will sprint downfield on long runs or completions to block downfield. He is a terrifying proposition for defensive backs in the third level. Most simply give up, folding to the ground or letting Washington push them whichever way he wants instead of standing their ground and hearing the Mortal Kombat guy yell, “Finish him!”
Washington’s 81.3 PFF run block grade last year was elite for a TE prospect, and Washington never graded below 72.4 in any season on campus. Several TE prospects in this class never earned a 72.4 run block grade during any collegiate season. In an era where boxes get thinned out, spreading the field with Washington inline could prove devastating. Washington will be his running back’s best friend in the NFL.
And his versatility doesn’t end there. Washington will immediately plug a spot on your special teams’ units. He had 145 special teams snaps on last year’s title-winning team. But, despite Washington’s athletic profile and despite his circus catch at the NFL Combine, he remains a thoroughly unrefined receiver. His routes are straightforward, and he doesn’t change directions on the field as his testing numbers would lead you to believe.
Beyond that, Washington had a 10.0% career drop rate in college, which is especially troubling for an intermediate safety blanket that doesn’t win downfield. He cut that number to an appropriate 6.7% in 2022 – if he can keep it in that range, he’ll be fine – but his drop rate was well over 10% heading into last season.
Washington caught only three career balls 20+ yards downfield over his entire career. He played with Brock Bowers – TE1 in next year’s class – and Arik Gilbert, both seam-stretchers… but that doesn’t really excuse Washington’s lack of utility in this area. Georgia would have let him do it if he was good at it. And for all Washington’s athletic gifts and power as a blocker, he’s shockingly easy to tackle. Over his entire career, he only forced 14 missed tackles, less than Kincaid or Iowa’s Sam LaPorta had last season alone.
Washington simply must become an ultra-reliable intermediate option during his chances. This is the crucial point of his eval. Because if Washington can’t win downfield, and if he isn’t going to gain many yards after the catch… he simply must cash in the opportunities he’s presented with over the middle of the field.
2023 Dynasty Rookie Draft Outlook: Darnell Washington
Once considered a possible first-round draft pick, Washington fell into the late third round, where the Steelers took him with the 93rd overall pick. It’s a suboptimal landing spot for Washington, who’ll play behind Pat Freiermuth and might be relegated to blocking duty when he’s on the field.
An athletic marvel with extraordinary size and strength, the 6-7, 270-pound Washington ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine (good for a 96th percentile speed score according to PlayerProfiler.com) and navigated the 20-yard short shuttle in 4.08 seconds, the fastest time among TE prospects and the third-fastest time among all combine prospects. With his huge frame and 34 3/8-inch arms, Washington has the wingspan pf a pterodactyl. That remarkable size-strength combo could eventually make Washington a serious red-zone threat.
The big question with Washington is whether he’ll ever be a true two-way tight end or a blocking tight end who occasionally catches a pass. He caught only 45 passes in 36 career games at Georgia, topping out at 28 catches in his third and final college season. It’s possible that Washington’s career will look a lot like that of Marcedes Lewis, and exceptional blocker who also turned in some fantasy-relevant seasons, including a 10-TD season for the Jaguars in 2010.
With his slide in the draft and the poor landing spot, Washington will be an afterthought in most dynasty rookie drafts. In 1QB leagues, Washington probably shouldn’t be considered until the late third round. In superflex leagues, he’s probably ticketed for the fourth round.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio