When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for Jonnu Smith ahead of the start of training camp, they had visions of pairing him with Pat Freiermuth to form a lethal 1-2 combination at tight end for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Instead, third-year pro Darnell Washington has emerged as the Steelers’ best tight end.
Dating back to the Week 4 game in Dublin, Washington has out-snapped Freiermuth and Smith in three of the five games. Though he didn’t out-snap Freiermuth or Smith on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts in the Steelers’ 27-20 win, Washington was more productive and a larger focal point of the offense, particularly in the passing game.