The Pittsburgh Steelers selected tight end Darnell Washington, a product of the Georgia Bulldogs, with the 93rd overall pick in the third-round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Washington didn’t have to wait long for his “welcome to the NFL” moment thanks to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin immediately pitting him against All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt in practice.
“At some point in my rookie career, at some point, the coaches want to see what I can do. At some point, they may put me against TJ,” said Washington about eventually facing Watt during an appearance on WDVE radio.
“I didn’t think it would be right out the gate, you know those were my first reps. When coaches called it out, he was like ’80 you up, you see 90 up.’ ‘Hold up, 90!?’ I was like, ‘Ohh dang, right out the gate, no warm up no nothing.'”
Washington “held his own” in his first encounter with the playmaking linebacker.
“I just went into it confident, I kind of take pride in blocking. Got some things to correct, but that’s how it goes.”
He wouldn’t be so lucky on the next time he got tasked with blocking Watt.
“We ended up going again I think the next day, he got the best of me on that day. I mean it is what it is, it’s football. You win some, you lose some, even the greats lose some, and that’s just how this game works. You just have to move forward.”
[WDVE]
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