The 2023 NFL Draft weekend haul remains the magnum opus for general manger Omar Khan as the shot-caller of the Pittsburgh Steelers , despite performance and injury questions surrounding Broderick Jones .
Flipping Chase Claypool for a second-round pick proved to be a shrewd decision, as it netted them Joey Porter Jr. , one of the top press man coverage specialists in the game today. Because of his pass-rushing prowess, Nick Herbig continues to be a hot commodity on everyone's wish list despite Pittsburgh having no real intentions of dealing him.
With members of this class now being extension eligible, the Khan and the Steelers organization have some tough decisions to make in the coming months.
Of course, having multiple players that you want to extend is a good problem to have, and they're in a fairly decent spot financially to make that happen. In terms of who they will prioritize, there's one name that stands above the rest in my estimation, and that's tight end Darnell Washington .
The 6-foot-7 mountain of a man is coming off his most productive campaign as a pass catcher with Aaron Rodgers under center. The Georgia product was a natural fit in Arthur Smith's heavy personnel attack, but there have been questions circulating social media about how his skill set would mesh in Mike McCarthy's West Coast offense.
In my opinion, those concerns are vastly exaggerated for a couple of reasons. Washington is a true in-line weapon that is a fit for any blocking scheme, not just sealing the edge on outside zone. For example, if you're running duo (a downhill concept that features double teams down the line) out of 11 personnel, it's important to have a tight end capable of base blocking an edge defender on an island. Those guys don't grow on trees. That's the beauty of employing a player like Washington is because everything is on the menu in the run game. Whether it's gap, power, inside zone, or outside zone, his capacity to execute so many different blocks at a high level makes the offense more flexible and thus more dangerous.
Naturally, Washington's gigantic build does offer some limitations as a receiver because he struggles to sink his hips and change directions like some of the elite playmakers can. That's the tradeoff. However, he's still more than enough of a threat to make defenses account for him in the progression. His biggest impact comes after the catch because he's insanely strong with good balance, with defenders routinely bouncing off him on tackling attempts.
Last season, the Steelers relied almost exclusively on short throws underneath, and if Rodgers is back in the fold for another spin, Washington will be a key cog in that approach. There's more meat on the bone, too. His size and catch radius should be an asset over the middle and in the red zone, but that would probably require a more daring quarterback playstyle down the line.
Obviously, Pat Freiermuth is coming off a down year, but we have years of data that suggest he's a useful receiving target. The duo actually have complementary skill sets, with both he and Washington playing virtually different positions: Freiermuth as the move piece with a more robust route tree to find openings down the field and Washington as the traditional dirty work guy that punishes defense as a blocker and ball carrier.
These two can definitely still co-exist, and if you're looking for perhaps the best example of how it could work in the near future, just ask the offensive coordinator. While with the Minnesota Vikings , Brian Angelichio had T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver to work with. While McCarthy's tenure in Dallas featured more single tight end sets, some of that could simply be a function of the personnel at his disposal. Notably, the Steelers only have one legitimate wide receiver on the roster at the moment in DK Metcalf , although that will surely be a heavy point of emphasis in the coming months.
Like any roster construction decision, it comes down to cost. What would a projected contract extension look like for the 24-year-old? PFF's Cap analyst Josh Queipo projects something in the range of three-years, $27 million, with Colby Parkinson as a recent comparison. Washington is an ascending player that has only missed one game over the course of his career to date with a frame and skill set that is going to be difficult to replace in most offseason cycles. Assuming that's the market, this price point seems like a no-brainer from the Steelers' perspective.
Knocking this one out early could allow the front office to start discussing the future with other members of the class, including Herbig, Porter, and even Keeanu Benton . All of those contracts are going to be more expensive, and with that comes more difficult negotiations. Ultimately, it will be fascinating to see which player(s) they end up prioritizing and who winds up playing out their contract year.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Bell: Steelers Have Clear No. 1 Priority for Contract Extensions
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