Grade The Draft

[Whatever]

(05-09-2023, 01:33 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Sure, there is some rawness to Washington as a pass catcher, but the blocking is likely better than anyone the Bengals have right now. 
And I can't see him being any worse in the passing game than Drew Sample.

If there was an injury concern with Washington, I wouldn't have expected the Steelers to take him.
As much as I don't like them, they are usually pretty solid when it comes to evaluating talent.
They may not be great at every pick, but they always seem to get some kind of decency.
Steelers didn't have an immediate need at TE given they had Freiermuth, so I think they took Washington believing he could be something special.

For the Bengals' sake, I hope the decision to trade back and the Steelers ultimately taking him right after doesn't bite them.

Washington is actually very raw as both a receiver and a blocker.  He won with size and power at the college level on the blocking side, but lots of guys win with that in college and are then in trouble against NFL strength and speed.  

He's basically a traits based prospects that will need his technique rebuilt in both blocking as as a receiver, then has injury flags on top of it.  He's a lot more of a gamble than I think many realize.

I don't think the Bengals really prioritize jump ball ability with their TE's.  They want their TE's to generate separation and create an easy throw for Joe.  If Joe's throwing into tight coverage, he's probably throwing it to Chase or Higgins.