Washington
Darnell Washington’s weight was the Steelers’ worst-kept secret
PITTSBURGH — When Darnell Washington moves through the Steelers locker room, his 6-foot-7 frame sways with every lumbering step. With rare athleticism for a man with those imposing physical dimensions, he is one of the NFL’s most unique players. Put him in a three-point stance and he looks like an offensive lineman capable of grappling with the AFC North’s best edge rushers. Line him up wide and he can back down smaller defensive backs like a power forward, or bully them after the catch.
Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith thinks of the third-year tight end as a wildcard in his offense, a create-a-player from the Madden video game — but in real life.
In that locker room a few weeks ago, a reporter posed a question that many have wondered:
How much do you really weigh?
A gentle giant with an easy smile and good sense of humor, Washington laughed off the question. The Steelers list him at a — clearly erroneous — 264 pounds.
Come on, the scale is right here. Just step on — real quick.
Again, the only response was a hearty chuckle.
Many tried, but getting an answer to that question proved more difficult than trying to tackle Washington in the open field. That 264 pounds was his weight at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
Why not update it?
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Washington said. “I’m just like you. I see it, just keep on about my day and laugh at it.”
Well, how close to 264 are you?
“How close? Honestly, I don’t know.”
The first indication that Washington is even bigger than his listed dimensions came last year. Tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts was detailing all the ways his tight end could be used in the offense when he accidentally let it slip.
“He gives you that added dimension because he is athletic,” Roberts said. “You don’t expect a guy to be 6-7 and 300-plus — oh, I said that out loud.”
Sorry Darnell Washington, your coach misspoke about your size #Steelers pic.twitter.com/0UlKpr47ps
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) October 30, 2024
During the Steelers’ Week 7 Thursday night game against the Bengals, the Amazon broadcast listed him as “300+” pounds. But if you were looking for an exact number, well, that information was guarded as tightly as a weekly gameplan.
“It’s no secret,” Washington said. “I truly just don’t know.”
Or does he?
When Washington was coming out of Georgia, the Steelers weren’t necessarily in the market for a tight end. Intrigued by his potential, the team hosted him for a pre-draft visit, the only tight end in that cycle to visit. When Washington slipped to the third round, the Steelers took him; the hope was that he would help slow Myles Garrett and the other dominant 4-3 defensive ends in the division.
From the moment Washington entered the league, he’s been the dominant in-line blocker the team imagined. During his first training camp, Washington proved himself by holding his own against T.J. Watt in one-on-one reps. This year during the ‘backs-on-‘backers drill, Washington stood up another edge rusher.
“Not bad for a tackle,” one teammate chirped.
“Pay me like it then,” Washington quipped back.
The Steelers have highlighted Washington’s physicality even more so this season by lining him up next to extra offensive lineman Spencer Anderson in their jumbo packages. When a tackle (like Broderick Jones on the left side, or Troy Fautanu on the right), Washington and Anderson line up shoulder-to-shoulder, the Steelers have three 300-plus pound humans on the same side of the formation.
“I think it was a George Young quote about the Franco Harris debate that’s in Chuck Noll’s book,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “He said, this was settled 2000 years ago when Alexander the Great came riding in on elephants. That’s kind of what it looks like. You put the tackle over, you’ve got 1,000 pounds over there.”
This season, Aaron Rodgers has helped unlock another dimension. The veteran quarterback was immediately intrigued by Washington’s physical dimensions; he often likened Washington to former teammate Mercedes Lewis, who was listed a 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds. With Rodgers behind center and Smith calling the plays, Washington has caught 18 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. With seven games to go, he already has more receiving yards than last season, and he’s one reception short of last year’s total.
D.J. Turner II was one of three Bengals defenders to feel the brunt of Darnell Washington during the tight end’s 31-yard catch-and-run on Sunday. (Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
If he looks at times like a grown man playing against children, that’s exactly how he feels, too. When he was a kid growing up in the Las Vegas area, Washington and his friends used to play a game called “Three Flags Up.” The rules are simple: One person throws the ball into the air. Everyone else jumps to try to catch it. First person to catch the ball three times wins.
“Honestly, it just takes me back to the childhood days playing three flags up,” Washington said. “I see someone out there a lot smaller than me, I know what’s coming. I feel like everybody knows what’s coming.”
Knowing what’s coming and stopping it are two different things. During Sunday’s win over the Bengals, Cincinnati’s defense felt the full weight of Washington. One play sums it up best: Washington caught a shallow cross, stiff-armed 231-pound linebacker Barrett Carter to the ground, ran through the arms of 210-pound safety Geno Stone and then finished the play with an exclamation point, bulldozing 185-pound DJ Turner II, knocking the cornerback off his feet.
GET OUTTA HIS WAY‼️ @_Dwfootball11
📺 #CINvsPIT on @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/Egz2vCb7BE
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 16, 2025
“They’re getting scared of him, for sure,” Rodgers said with a smile. “They should be.”
On Wednesday, Washington proved a little less elusive. Appearing on St. Brown Podcast, hosted by Detroit Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother, former NFL wideout Equanimeous St. Brown.
How much do you weigh?
“I ain’t finna cap to y’all. I ain’t weighed myself in a minute, but I know—”
Bro, what do you mean, you got weigh-ins every week!
“Look, there’s no weigh-ins—”
Washington then, literally, ducked off-camera.
Look, he trying to get away!
“O.K., O.K. yeah, I’m gonna keep it a buck. I’m 311.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown (left) and Equanimeous St. Brown (right) finally wore down Darnell Washington (middle) on Wednesday. (via YouTube)
While Washington’s emerging presence in the pass game is new, it’s not necessarily unexpected.
“Some of the freakish things that you see him do in the stadium I saw on Georgia tape,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Some of the freakish things that I’ve seen him do this year, I saw him do last year. He had a unique run after (catch) certainly the other day that kind of ignited our collective offensively and defensively, but he had a similar-type play, I remember, in Indianapolis last year, when we were kind of running in place offensively, and he made a play, and it kind of ignited us.”
“He’s a special athlete. He has unique talents. He’s certainly a tough guy to deal with in one-on-one tackle circumstances. It makes him a force to be reckoned with.”
All 311 pounds of him.
On a perfect day in Seattle for football, Washington took the field inside Husky Stadium for its first scrimmage of spring practice, and ahead of his third season at the helm, Jedd Fisch seemed pleased with the results.
“Guys played and competed their ass off,” he said after the Huskies ran 120 plays. “That’s the type of day we want to have…We have a lot to work on, but we’re excited that today gave us this opportunity.”
The 120 plays had a little bit of everything, but the biggest thing the Huskies showed during the day was that, despite the inexperience that Fisch’s coaching staff is looking to lean on at several positions, there’s plenty of talent littering the roster. The best example of that is sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr., who had his best practice in a Husky uniform after Fisch announced on Saturday that senior CJ Christian is out for the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during Tuesday’s practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
“Paul’s done a great job of competing and being physical and playing fast, and you could see over these three years, he’s really grown into understanding now the system, and what’s asked of him as a safety,” Fisch said. “I think there’s a lot of in him that he wants to be like (safeties coach Taylor) Mays. He sees himself as a tall, linear, big hitter. So when you have your coach that is known for that type of play, I think Paul has done a great job.”
Mencke was all over the field. Not only did he lay some big hits, just like his safeties coach did during his time at USC, but the former four-star recruit also tallied a pair of pass breakups, an interception in a 7-on-7 period, and multiple strong tackles to hold ball carriers to limited yards.
While the defense did a good job getting pressure throughout the day and making the quarterbacks hold the ball with different looks on the back end, with safety Alex McLaughlin, linebacker Donovan Robinson, and edge rusher Logan George all among the players credited for a sack, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. got an opportunity to show off how he’s improved ahead of his junior year.
Early on, he showed off his well-known speed and athleticism, making the correct decision on a read option, pulling the ball and scampering for a 25-yard gain before displaying his touch. Throughout the day, his favorite target was junior receiver Rashid Williams, whom he found on several layered throws of 15-plus yards in the various scrimmage periods of practice.
On a day when every able-bodied member of the team was able to get several reps of live action, here are some of the other noteworthy plays from the day.
Spring practice notebook
- Freshman cornerback Jeron Jones was unable to participate in the scrimmage and was spotted working off to the side with the rest of the players rehabbing their injuries.
- The running backs delivered a pair of big blows on the day. First, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley was on the receiving end of a big hit from redshirt freshman Quaid Carr before the former three-star recruit ripped off a 13-yard touchdown run on the next play. Later on, every player on offense had a lot of fun cheering on freshman Ansu Sanoe after he leveled Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, letting the sophomore linebacker hear all about it when the play was whistled dead.
- Sophomore wide receiver Justice Williams put together a strong day with several contested catches, showing off his strong hands and 6-foot-4 frame, including a 25-yard catch and run off a drag route from backup quarterback Elijah Brown.
- Of all the tackles for a loss the Huskies were able to rack up throughout the day, two stood out. First, junior defensive tackle Elinneus Davis burst through the middle of the line to wrap up freshman running back Brian Bonner. Later on, freshman outside linebacker Ramzak Fruean wasn’t even touched as he shot through a gap in the offensive line to track down a play from behind, letting the entire offensive sideline know about the play on his way back to his own bench.
- The Huskies experimented with several defensive line combinations on Saturday, and for the first time this spring, it felt like freshman Derek Colman-Brusa took the majority of his reps alongside someone other than Davis, who he said has taken on an older brother role to help mentor the top-ranked in-state prospect in the 2026 class.
“Elinneus is a phenomenal guy. Great work ethic. He’s kind of taken on that older brother mentor for me. He’s been a great help just to learn plays and learn the scheme. Can’t say enough good things about the guy.”
- Ball State transfer Darin Conley took a handful of reps with the first team, while rotating with Colman-Brusa, who got a lot of work in alongside Sacramento State transfer DeSean Watts.
Twenty Sioux Falls School District art teachers have their own original pieces on display at the Washington Pavilion’s University Gallery now through May 31.
The “Teachers as Artists” exhibit showcases their work not just as educators, but as artists inside and outside of the classroom, and highlights how art education builds critical thinking, creative problem-solving and self-expression skills.
Edison Middle School art teacher Meagan Turbak-Fogarty said she dreamt of such a showcase since her first year teaching.
She and Kathy Dang, an art teacher at Marcella LeBeau Elementary School who also serves on the city’s Visual Arts Committee, partnered with the city and Washington Pavilion to bring the showcase to life.
Turbak-Fogarty has taught at Edison for five years and said her passion for art is “instantly felt” on her classroom walls, but that students have asked where they could see her art in the classroom, or what kind of art she creates in her own time.
“I always felt the feeling that I stand in front of all these kids every single day and preach about how much I love art, and how art has changed my life,” Turbak-Fogarty said. “That got me thinking, ‘I want to show them.’”
Some of her works on display at the Pavilion include art she created in her first year teaching, including a large Cheetos bag she created as an example for her eighth grade classroom when they were working on a large chip bag project. Turbak-Fogarty said she loves painting, working with acrylics and unconventional materials.
“I wanted to show my students that art can be anything,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be hanging up in a museum to be considered art.”
Continuing to do her own art while teaching the subject helps keep her inspired, Turbak-Fogarty explained, adding that it helps her push her own creativity when it comes to projects she works on with students.
Samantha Levisay, an art teacher at John Harris Elementary School, showed three pieces in the show — “Moments in Time,” “Midnight Butterfly Garden” and “Whimsy” — with the same mixed media, watercolor and printmaking skills that she teaches in different units at every elementary grade.
Levisay educates her students that “art is everywhere.” She said her favorite memories as an art teacher are “moments when I show students a lesson, and they take it even further.”
“Kids are so creative; I marvel at them all the time,” she said. “They inspire me every day with their endless creativity and imagination.”
Roosevelt High School art teacher Ruth Hillman showed two pieces in the show: “The Potato on the Wall,” a mixed media work, and a collection of her handmade clay charms in a shadow box.
She also wore some of her art — miniature potato earrings made of clay.
Hillman is in her third year at RHS. When she’s not teaching art, she’s also making art, and sells her charms at shows like the Art Collective.
Washington High School art teacher Mollie Potter displayed a three-part painting series at the show that she said were inspired by her English language learner students’ stories, and how teachers help students “take flight,” as represented by balloons, parachutes and kites in her work.
Porter said she is often inspired by her students’ art in the classroom; for example, one former student was obsessed with swans, and Porter said she later created a painting inspired by one of the student’s stories about swans.
At an April 17 reception, Mayor Paul TenHaken emphasized the arts as an “important economic driver in the community,” and said the show honored educators “who are artists in and of themselves,” but who might not have had a chance to display their art outside the classroom before.
“This is a way for us to honor them and show their incredible work,” TenHaken said.
Full Episode:
Washington Week with The Atlantic full episode, 4/17/26
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