Darnell Washington (TE) – Georgia / Junior
6’7” / 265.0 lbs (Unofficial)
2022 Stats: 15 games, 28 receptions, 454 yards, 16.2 yards per reception, 2 touchdowns
{Reference: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/darnell-washington-1.html}
Awards: The Official “Joe Knows” 2023 Draft Class Favorite Player Award
Measurables: (AVAILABLE POST COMBINE/PRO DAY)
Games Watched: 2022 @ Mississippi St.; 2022 Ohio St. (Bowl Game); 2022 TCU (Bowl Game)
PRO’S
Want a 6th offensive lineman who doubles as a reliable outlet for his QB? Welcome to Darnell Washington. Washington is huge – 6’7” and 265 lbs – and athletic. Washington is a very good pass protector and devastating run blocker – this dude loves driving defenders into the turf and letting them know about it afterwards. As a receiver, his size makes him a great target for his QB and he has nice soft hands, making some tough/contested catches and even athletic catches.
Once he has the ball in his hands, that’s where the fun really starts. It often takes two or more to take him down. A defender bounces off of Washington when trying to tackle him high, and he’s very adept at keeping his balance and very often hurdling defenders trying to take him low. Even when there’s a combo high-low tackle on him, he’s always falling forwards. He even deploys a spin move to avoid tackles. He stiff arms CBs and Safeties like they’re children, and he has a knack for finding the soft spots in the defense. He plays like an alpha who knows he’s playing amongst smaller men, and he takes full advantage of it. He’s also playing the game hard — in both blocking and receiving, where he’s always fighting for an extra yard.
CON’S
Not quick, not explosive, and not a separator, but once he gets going he gets a nice head of steam. Change of direction not a strength but given his size I think I’m nitpicking. Plus, he doesn’t need change of direction. But quite frankly, I don’t care about his lack of separation because he uses his size so well, is adept at finding open spots in the defense, and he’s real trouble once he gets the ball and turns up field. Really nothing for me to nitpick in his pass protection and definitely not in run blocking.
OVERALL
If I said in an earlier write up that someone else was my favorite player in this draft, well, ignore that because Darnell Washington is now my favorite player in this draft. Why? Because he is such a darn unicorn — so unique, you just don’t see players like him. Not saying he’s the best player in this draft, but just my favorite. You have to watch this guy’s game tape, or at least his highlight videos and you’ll see what I mean. I don’t recall ever seeing someone as gargantuan as he, be so athletic. I don’t know what his 40-yard dash time is, but to my naked eye he’s got sneaky decent play speed – like an old ‘70s Cadillac smooth acceleration (reminds me of retired RB Brandon Jacobs, just even bigger) – and he is often hurdling or trying to hurdle opponents. Don’t be surprised if he goes in the late 1st round given his all round ability as a TE, including what I believe is seriously untapped ability in the receiving game. I’m convinced that if he weren’t playing on the same team as Brock Bowers – best TE in the NCAA – that Washington’s targets would be substantially higher.
Completed by: Joe Knows (@JoeJ_Clark), 02/17/2023
