03-17-2023, 10:42 PM
(03-17-2023, 08:33 PM)OSUfan Wrote: His receiving ability is not unknown. There is not a player in the draft that has known receiving ability in the NFL because they are not there yet. In the following highlight video what you can take away from it is that Washington is a natural pass catcher that has no issue catching a ball in traffic and who understands how to settle into the open spots in a zone which is what the Bengals ask their TEs to do on a regular basis. You can also take from the video that he is a tough tackle with the ball in his hands and is looking for yards after the catch.
The ceiling on Washington is extremely high which is what you want from a first round selection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7SbLkZ4_Pg
(03-17-2023, 08:59 PM)Synric Wrote: Yea. As that Video shows Darnell Washington is a dangerous TE-Y especially down the seam in play action which was most of that highlight video. In fact all but one of those highlight catches were on routes he was running in a straight line. The only breaking route was the only WR route he ran and it was a 10 yard stick with the coverage so far off he didnt have to break down.
I have defended Darnell Washington and his skill set a ton now that the combine has given him a huge spotlight I feel like I spend time tempering expectations for him lol. He has a good chance of being one of the elite TE-Y because of his blocking dude is big long and powerful. As a receiver those highlights are what your getting he is probably not a guy your gonna line up in the slot on 3rd and long and ask to run a quick option route vs man coverage. Hes gonna be a play action guy you can get way down field and let jump guys.
(03-17-2023, 10:10 PM)Housh Wrote: Don’t need a route tree If you are gonna be wide open for 80% of your passes
His big body will allow him to catch tight covered passes too
He’s gonna be a guy that excels in the NFL game compares to what he did in college. Good luck trying to tackle him on plays like 3rd and 2
A TE defitniely needs to be able to run routes in the NFL, but not just run them but win them in order to be a truly successful TE in the league. Synric is correct, he is catching slip passes off blocks or running straight seams.
We all really like the guy, he isa physical beast, but he has caught like 40 passes in his entire college career. Musgrave has only caught a few as well but he can run every route and win. The PFF guys made a lot of sense questioning if a guy that is going to catch 2-3 passes per game simply coming off blocks is truly worth a 1st Round pick... especially for a team that passes as much as we do. A team like the Titans? No doubt he would be optimal.
