Darnell Washington Nearly Missed Football: The Journey From Test Subject to Steelers Rookie

Once a basketball player, then a test subject, and now, the Pittsburgh Steelers' newest weapon.

PITTSBURGH -- If not for the bold No. 80 printed on his chest and back, it'd be easy to mistake Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington for an offensive lineman. That is, after all, how he was primarily used during his college days at Georgia and at 6'5 and 264 pounds, he's not far from the ideal size for a left tackle. 

Today, Washington strikes fear into the hearts of opponents with his imposing frame and overwhelming blocking abilities, but as a kid he was kept out of football by his own mother, who was concerned about how the sport's violence would affect her youngest child. 

“I’m the baby in the family, so my mom said, ‘I don’t want you to get hurt,'" Washington said. "So I started playing soccer for two years."

Washington knew he had loved football since he was six, but it took five years after the fact for his mother to relent and allow her son - who was always among the biggest kids his age - to put on pads and a helmet and hit someone. 

In youth football, Washington was so big and so athletic that coaches tried to maximize his impact by moving him around. Washington started at running back. The next year, he played left tackle. The year after, he became a wide receiver. The one constant for Washington was the defensive line, where he played on the inside and outside and cultivated the "hit, don't get hit" attitude that makes him such a fantastic blocker. 

That served Washington well as he climbed up into high school. From his freshman to sophomore year, he grew and inch and added ten pounds and continued to fill out a body that had already been a dramatic advantage over his peers. 

His career as a lineman started out of necessity. His youth teams were short on players and Washington, being one of the biggest kids out there, so he was the first to be conscripted onto the line. But by his junior year of high school, the combination of power, agility and ball skills made him a perfect fit at tight end. That position has been home for Washington ever since. 

“I just prefer offense. It’s just where my heart is," Washington said. "Scoring touchdowns, making big blocks - that’s just kind of where my heart is.”

That's really how Washington's entire football career has gone. Even in college at Georgia, he was forced to play second fiddle to superstar freshman Brock Bowers, who is the closest thing college football has to Travis Kelce. Meanwhile, Washington acted more as a sixth offensive lineman, mauling opposing defenders to pave the way for rushers and keep quarterbacks clean. 

He is a really good blocker, perhaps the best at his position available in this year's draft, but that delivers little glory, so Washington had to create his own. He embraced his job, refined his technique and concluded that whatever he does, he wanted to be the best at it. 

“For me, when I wasn’t getting the ball more, I had to embrace something," Washington said. "And if I wasn’t getting the ball, what am I doing? I’m blocking. So I started embracing that role."

Washington still sees a chance for him to impact the passing game with the Steelers but is hesitant to look so far ahead. He hasn't talked specifically with offensive coordinator Matt Canada about how the team wants to use him, but is ready to provide whatever they need. 

"We just kind of take it day by day," Washington said. "It’s day one, install and things like that. I’m not really sure how I’ll be used yet, but we’ll see.”

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