Dolphins Draft Pick Tahj Washington Deep Dive

What film study reveals about Miami Dolphins seventh-round pick Tahj Washington, where he shines, where he needs work and what his potential role might be as a rookie

Miami Dolphins seventh-round pick Tahj Washington / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 NFL draft is over, and the Miami Dolphins are hoping their seven-player class can help them take that next step and get over the hump in the playoffs.

Miami’s draft featured a first-round pick for the first time since 2021, a second-round pick and five picks on Day 3, including a trade to get them back into the fourth round.

Our series of film breakdowns on the Dolphins draft picks concludes with Tahj Washington, who the Dolphins selected No. 241 overall in the seventh round out of USC. Washington spent two years at Memphis before transferring to USC for his final three seasons.

Washington had the best season of his career in 2023, playing alongside Caleb Williams. The wideout recorded 59 catches for 1,062 yards and eight touchdowns.

Does Washington have the skills to make Miami’s roster in 2024? Let’s dive in and see what the film tells us.

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Tahj Washington’s Ball Skills

The similarity between Tahj Washington’s ball skills and those of Malik Washington, who the Dolphins drafted in the sixth round, are uncanny.

Despite being a smaller player (5-9, 174 pounds), Tahj Washington is capable of finishing contested catches in the air consistently. He has strong hands, allowing him to elevate and rip the ball away from defenders.

Those traits also help in the middle of the field. Washington made a lot of tough catches through contact for Caleb Williams last season. Given how much Tua Tagovailoa throws into the middle of the field, Washington should fit right in with Miami’s offense.

The biggest limitation on his ball skills is just his lack of reach. His 70-inch wingspan is third percentile among receivers since 1999, and it prevents him from getting to certain balls.

This becomes a more significant issue when paired with his lack of separation quickness (we’ll get to that later). Basically, Washington is a small receiver who thrives on contested catches. That’s a difficult profile to have success with at the NFL level.

NFL defenders hit harder and throwing windows get tighter. Although he held up well in college, it’s not a guarantee his ball skills will translate like they did in college.

Still, Washington deserves credit for his toughness and reliable hands, especially at his size. If those skills translate, there’s a chance he can outproduce his draft slot at some point.

Tahj Washington’s Route Running

This is where Washington’s evaluation gets a little tricky. His route-running technique is solid. He does a nice job making every route look the same until it’s not, keeping defense backs off balance.

He can vary speeds well and lean into the defensive back’s space to create a half-second of hesitation. All of that leads to him generally getting open, especially when working across the field.

The issue for Washington is he doesn’t create a lot of separation on tape. He’s only got average quickness, and he doesn’t explode out of his breaks the way you’d want a receiver of his size too.

Separation quickness is an essential skill for any receiver, let alone one that will play exclusively in the slot at the next level. Washington is smart in how he sits his routes down against zone coverage, something the Dolphins value a lot in their receivers.

However, Washington’s lack of separation ability against man coverage doesn’t project to get better at the NFL level. He doesn’t have much experience against press either, so putting him on the field against certain teams might not even be an option.

There’s a chance that Washington’s technical prowess meshes well enough with Tagovailoa’s timing-based passing to get the former on the field at some point, but the Dolphins have a lot of players in this role already.

Tahj Washington’s YAC Ability

Washington is capable of creating some yards after the catch. He’s not the fastest or most explosive player on the field, but he’s got smooth change-of-direction skills.

Those allow him to stop on a dime and let defenders go by him in the open field. Washington is a lot tougher than he looks. He’s more than willing to take on contact — for better or worse — getting extra yards through tackles.

He shows good contact balance to stay on his feet near the sideline and fight for first downs. He pairs all of that with good open-field vision, something he likely developed while returning kicks.

Washington lets his blockers set up and understands how to set up unblocked defenders to have bad tackle angles when they attack him from depth. Like his route running, Washington relies on his grit and football IQ to make plays.

The downside is Washington likely won’t rip off a ton of big plays against NFL-caliber athletes. He doesn’t have the speed to burn them for big plays or the explosiveness to shake multiple defenders on the same play.

There is something to be said for his consistency and reliability though. Although he’s limited, his positives far outweigh his negatives in this area.

The Bottom Line With Tahj Washington

We’re keeping things short with Washington because his best chance to make the Dolphins’ roster or practice squad will come on special teams instead of what he can do for the offense.

Washington isn’t even the best receiver named Washington the Dolphins drafted last weekend, and he’d have to climb over names like Braxton Berrios, River Cracraft, Anthony Schwartz and Braylon Sanders.

However, Washington returned 24 kicks in college. On those 24 returns, he recorded 438 yards, 242 of which came in 2020 when he was still at Memphis. Given the NFL’s new kickoff rule, it’s probably the area where Washington could have the most impact next season.

He’ll have plenty of competition for that spot, too. Berrios is an experienced return man (both punts and kickoffs), but his numbers aren’t good enough to warrant zero competition.

Overall, Washington is a worthwhile flier in the seventh round. He fits Miami’s scheme from the receiver position and can make an impact on special teams. It’s hard to ask much more from a player taken in the draft’s last round.

OTHER DOLPHINS DRAFT PICK FILM BREAKDOWNS

-- First-round pick Chop Robinson

-- Second-round pick Patrick Paul

-- Fourth-round pick Jaylen Wright

-- Fifth-round pick Mohamed Kamara

-- Sixth-round pick Malik Washington

-- Sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris