Darnell

Washington

Washington hauled in a 17-yard pass last in the third quarter and then found himself on the receiving end of a 25-yard pass over the middle of the field on the following drive. The 42 yards set a new career-high for Washington, who now has three games of 30-plus receiving yards this season. The Steelers seem to be incorporating him more in the passing game, but he doesn’t have any fantasy utility at this time.

Three of Washington’s four targets were designed screens away from pressure, signifying an intent to keep the towering tight end involved in the offensive game plan amidst the quarterback change in Pittsburgh. Even so, Washington has yet to return a usable fantasy score through seven games and can safely be left on the waiver wire.

Freiermuth was the second-most targeted pass-catcher for Justin Fields, used mostly with short-area receptions. MyCole Pruitt and Darnell Washington each had a catch, but neither will be fantasy relevant. Recently extended, Freiermuth will be a top-three option in the Steelers offense, though there may be a lack of red zone targets as seen in Week 1. Value Freiermuth as a TE2 for Week 2 against the Broncos.

New OC Arthur Smith is employing a heavy tight end rotation, featuring Freiermuth (12 first-team snaps), Darnell Washington (eight first-team snaps) and MyCole Pruitt (six first-team snaps). PFF’s Nathan Jahnke notes Freiermuth was worryingly removed from the field for two-tight end sets, which poses a significant threat to his 2024 fantasy relevance.

Pelissero added Freiermuth will probably miss time beyond Week 7 after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury this week in practice. He can be safely dropped in al formats and might not suit up until late in the season, if at all. Darnell Washington has taken on much of Freiermuth’s snap share but is not a fantasy option in the low-octane Steelers offense.

Washington was expected to step into a bigger role with Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) sidelined, but it was Connor Heyward who led the tight ends with four targets on the afternoon. With the Steelers now heading into their Week 6 bye, it’s possible Freiermuth returns for Week 7 against the Rams.

It was a rough day even before Freiermuth’s injury, as he was getting blown up as a blocker and got called for offensive pass interference. He had three catches for all of seven yards on four catches. Already playing banged up for several weeks, Freiermuth could end up missing time. Intriguing rookie Darnell Washington would be the next man up in fantasy, though there is zero fantasy upside in this offense at the moment.

Washington didn’t practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday before getting in a full practice and being removed from the injury report. The rookie tight end has played 43% of offensive snaps through the first two weeks.

Gentry was thought to be the primary blocking tight end entering the 2023 season after receiving a contract extension this offseason. The team then drafted athletic specimen tight end Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, making Gentry more or less obsolete. The release signals trust in their rookie tight end to contribute from the jump.

Koroza noted that Washington hadn’t seen the ball much in camp, but when he had, it was in the red zone. He expects similar usage for the rookie in the regular season. Koroza counted eight receptions for Washington in 11-on-11 drills, four of which were touchdowns. That all checks out for the hulking rookie. He was used extensively on play-action and as a blocker at Georgia but was firmly stuck behind future first-round pick Brock Bowers on the depth chart. Washington isn’t on the redraft radar, though he could emerge as a touchdown vulture to the Steelers players fantasy managers are currently drafting.