If you happen to had been pressured to take a seat down and make a recreation plan to restrict the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, there are a couple of names that will come to thoughts earlier than touchdown on TE Darnell Washington. However that’s precisely who Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter spoke about throughout his Thursday press convention forward of their matchup with the Steelers.
A reporter requested if there’s a particular strategy to restrict an enormous goal like Washington within the passing recreation, seemingly due to his first profession landing final week and the Steelers’ solely landing of the season.
“I’d hate to provide that away,” Minter mentioned in a video posted on the Chargers’ YouTube web page. “However they do an awesome job using everyone of their offense. Nice receivers, clearly completely different tight ends, completely different types of tight ends that all of them do various things properly. He’s definitely an enormous man, so he’s a very good in-line blocker. He’s good securing the sting after which, man, he can flex out and he’s a matchup drawback due to his dimension [and] catch radius.”
It’s considerably odd to be speaking about Washington as a matchup subject within the receiving recreation given his lack of utilization in that space over his rookie season, however he’s beginning to flip into an possibility in sure conditions. He had simply seven receptions for 61 yards final season and already has two receptions for 10 yards and a landing this 12 months.
The landing got here on a play the place he was lined up extensive as a receiver close to the left sideline. The Broncos coated him with S P.J. Locke, who’s 5-10, 202 kilos, and Washington fairly simply secured the back-shoulder cross from Justin Fields for a rating. Washington is 6-7 and 264 kilos, so he had 9 inches and 62 kilos on the security making an attempt to cowl him. That could be a mismatch.
It feels like Minter has a plan for that state of affairs that he clearly didn’t wish to reveal in a press convention. Apart from his receiving talents, they positively have to pay attention to him as a blocker. The Steelers have already aligned Washington in eight completely different spots within the formation this 12 months, per charting from Professional Soccer Focus.
He’ll seemingly be an enormous a part of the Steelers’ recreation plan this week to assist include the Chargers’ glorious trio of edge rushers in Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, and Bud Dupree. That is precisely the kind of mismatch headache for opposing defensive coordinators that was hoped for when the Steelers used a third-round decide on Washington final 12 months.
