Player: TE Darnell Washington
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Darnell Washington’s hope to carve out a bigger role as a receiver took a beating with the Jonnu Smith trade. Smith caught 88 passes for 884 yards and 8 touchdowns last year, and the Steelers are paying him $12 million. They acquired him to catch passes, and they already have Pat Freiermuth. Odds are, there simply won’t be enough targets to significantly increase his usage.
When the Steelers drafted Darnell Washington, they by no means dismissed his potential as a receiving option in their offense.