It\u2019s hard to get too excited by anything during voluntary OTAs when players are in shorts, but TE Darnell Washington has been turning the heads of both Steelers beat reporters and his teammates. According to 93.7 The Fan, Washington dropped weight this offseason and Mason Rudolph already sees a huge difference in his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cDarnell Washington said he dropped 10-15 pounds. Mason Rudolph said he looks like a different player,\u201d 93.7 The Fan wrote on X<\/a> with a clip of Washington running routes.<\/p>\n TE coach Alfredo Roberts let it slip<\/a> last season that Washington\u2019s weight exceeded 300 pounds. Weighing in at 6065 and 264 pounds at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, that means he gained roughly 40 pounds during his first two seasons in the league. He resembled an offensive tackle more than he did a tight end.<\/p>\n While we don\u2019t have an exact number, it\u2019s unlikely Washington topped 315 pounds. If he\u2019s dropped 10\u201315 pounds as he says, that likely puts him back somewhere in the high 290s. That\u2019s still massive, but noticeably lighter and Washington seemingly more agile.<\/p>\n Mark Kaboly reported that he was one of the standouts of the first week of OTAs with the way he asserted himself in the passing game with adjectives like \u201cquicker, faster and more nimble\u201d<\/a> used to describe him. He ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, which was very impressive for his size. Maybe he has slowed down a bit from there with an extra 30 pounds, but he still has plenty of athleticism to be a receiving threat.<\/p>\n