The Steelers appear intent on turning themselves into bullies, and in Washington they believe they’ve found someone who can push an opponent around on one snap and run away from them the next. The Chiefs and Bengals are built on offense and dynamic passing attacks. Pittsburgh used free agency and the draft to get bigger - a lot bigger - in hopes of being a stylistic antithesis to the Kansas Cities and Cincinnatis of the world. The Steelers plan to use Washington as a little of both as they put together a roster designed to make inroads on the current AFC powerhouses. 80 basically unmissable as he broke from the line of scrimmage, towering over whatever defender forced to try to cover a player who has the size of a left tackle but essentially the athletic body of a wide receiver. The crown of his black-and-gold helmet peaked out of the top of every offensive huddle. From running back to offensive lineman to wide receiver to defensive lineman to ultimately a 6-foot-7, 264-pound tight end who always has stood out in - or maybe that’s above - the crowd.Įven on a practice field filled with 50 other players trying to get the hang of the NFL while participating in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie minicamp, Washington stands out. “It was all she wrote from there,” Washington said.Īlready bigger than his classmates, Washington seemingly never stopped growing. Finally, when he reached junior high, Katrina’s safety concerns eased, convinced not by her son’s precocious size but the assurances from the mother of one of Washington’s friends who already was playing.
“She was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want you to get hurt,’“ Washington said. Yet throughout elementary school, whenever he’d ask his mother if he could sign up to play, Katrina Graves would turn to the youngest of her eight children and give him the same answer: no. PITTSBURGH (AP) - Darnell Washington fell in love with football when he was 6 or 7.
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