{"id":383805,"date":"2025-09-20T21:25:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T21:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/383805\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T21:25:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T21:25:12","slug":"steelers-above-the-rim-pass-catchers-looking-to-take-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/383805\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers’ ‘Above the Rim’ Pass-Catchers Looking to Take Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steelers News<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"PittsburghPittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington dunks the ball over the goalpost after scoring a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 9, 2025. — Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

PITTSBURGH \u2014 If the Gillette Stadium turf were switched out for hardwood on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers would be just fine. Well, in theory.<\/p>\n

Following the iso grabs DK Metcalf<\/a> and Darnell Washington made in the end zone in last week\u2019s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith offered a cross-sport comparison for the two pass-catchers, physically imposing in their own ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just matchup,\u201d Smith said Thursday before practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. \u201cThrow it to Shaq in the post. I mean, you see Darnell out there. He\u2019s not small. He did it in Denver last year. I think we got a DPI against Cincinnati. Certainly it\u2019s, you\u2019ve got to answer in other spots, but you get those one-on-ones, and try to take advantage. Throw it to Shaq in the post. See what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington, who stands above his teammates at 6-foot-7, is six inches shorter than Shaquille O\u2019Neal, formerly the most dominant big man in basketball. MaxPreps statistics had him averaging 9.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for Desert Pines (Nev.) High School. He even mashed a celebratory one-handed dunk<\/a> over the goalpost\u2019s crossbar after scoring a preseason touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s stature and talents also stand out to ninth-year pro and fellow tight end Jonnu Smith.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf warms up before a game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sep. 14, 2025 \u2014 Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now<\/p>\n

\u201cDarnell, man, that\u2019s a different conversation right there,\u201d Jonnu Smith said. \u201cLike you said, that\u2019s basically Shaq out there on an island with any defender you put out there with him. We all carry different, unique skillsets, but that\u2019s his superpower right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonnu Smith was then asked who his basketball comparison is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s Shaq, I\u2019m LeBron,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Calvin Austin III, who stands 5-foot-9, chose the role of Allen Iverson. Second-year wideout Roman Wilson wanted to be Iverson, as well, before being told Austin already called dibs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Steph Curry type of guy,\u201d Wilson said after considering it for another second.<\/p>\n

Metcalf rounded out the fictitious lineup by filling Kobe Bryant\u2019s shoes. According to MaxPreps, Metcalf averaged 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game during his hoops career at Oxford (Miss.) High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a huge compliment, but on the flip side of things, I feel like Shaq when I\u2019m not getting a lot of calls going my way because I\u2019m a bigger receiver,\u201d Metcalf said. \u201cThe refs\u2019 excuses are always, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s bigger than them.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Metcalf, a splashy offseason trade addition, has seven grabs for 103 yards over the first two weeks of the regular season. Tailback Jaylen Warren leads the Steelers with 108 receiving yards on six catches, an indication that the team\u2019s aerial attack isn\u2019t quite ironed out yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got guys that can play above the rim,\u201d Arthur Smith said. \u201cYou\u2019re looking at Darnell. You\u2019re looking at DK. You\u2019re looking at Jonnu. Calvin, who can fit in, but you said he couldn\u2019t. (You) didn\u2019t think I\u2019d fit in Calvin. In all seriousness, it just depends. What\u2019s the coverage? You get those matchups, you put a guy out there like that, they can double, they can crowd, the ball\u2019s got to go somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin played basketball through high school. He was a guard, but \u201ccouldn\u2019t really shoot at all, but defense, I led the team in assists and steals,\u201d he said. He also pointed out that he played the \u2018X\u2019 receiver position during his days at Memphis, catching back-shoulder balls and going up for passes against taller covermen. Austin has 92 receiving yards on five catches this go-round.<\/p>\n

\u201cGritty player, tough, considering just how he played,\u201d Austin said of Iverson. \u201cHe played as if you wouldn\u2019t be able to tell his size. That\u2019s kinda my mindset when I get out on the field. I\u2019m just not thinking about it. I\u2019m just out there balling (with) intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin leaped above New York Jets cornerback Brandon Stephens for a 21-yard pickup during the Steelers\u2019 Week 1 victory, reminding everyone he has hops, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy vertical jump is a big part of my game,\u201d Austin said. \u201cMy explosiveness. \u2026 I\u2019ve really just locked in whenever the ball\u2019s in the air. There\u2019s times for late hands and stuff, but just going up there and attacking the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Austin, Wilson wasn\u2019t ever a hooper, admitting, \u201cI was trash.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned In This Article: Calvin Austin III<\/a> Darnell Washington<\/a> DK Metcalf<\/a> Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> Roman Wilson<\/a> Steelers<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steelers News Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington dunks the ball over the goalpost after scoring a touchdown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[8741,457,2870,7,6,520,57,2360,4112,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-383805","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-calvin-austin-iii","9":"tag-darnell-washington","10":"tag-dk-metcalf","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","16":"tag-roman-wilson","17":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115238740048241894","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}