Georgia Tight End Darnell Washington Looks Dominant

Something happened inside me while watching Darnell Washington on game film…

I felt excited inside.

Seeing the way he moved for a man his size and imagining the mismatches in the NFL got me excited as an evaluator.

It was like imagining if an NBA superstar power forward played in the NFL.

Elite size and athleticism

In the first-round teams have to come away with a dynamic difference maker, and Washington fits that description.

While Washington is not nifty at the breakpoints, he is a super-sized target at the short to intermediate route levels, who is like this huge mass of moving muscle methodically moving downfield.

He plain out-powers defenders for the ball with his long and muscular arms – – along the lines of what we have seen with Seahawks’ wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.

While Washington is a tight-end and not a wide receiver, he did show he can line up in tight to the line of scrimmage, in the slot, or out wide, and he has that same Metcalf alpha-male look and feel to his game.

“Big 0” (his nickname) showed he can confidently pluck the ball out of the air, and he looked good doing it.

Washington is aggressive

He contends hard when the ball is in the air, and he is equally aggressive as a run blocker.

It’s just his personality – – and it is a personality that will move the meter at the next level.

I know run blocking is an afterthought, but that didn’t stop me from watching Washington in three games as a run blocker.

He’s not perfect, but he aggressively works at it.

Not the easiest to bring down after the catch

This is also where that aggressive attitude came out.

Washington showed determination and good balance after receptions.

He takes what defenses give him, and it takes a strong tackling effort to bring him down.

Washington showed several times he was able to overcome the first tackling attempt and continued running after the catch.

Playing behind star tight end

Washington has somewhat limited production playing behind tight-end Brock Bowers at Georgia.

To date, he has 33 catches over the past three seasons.

Between 2020-2021, Washington had 17 catches on 30 targets.

So far in 2022, he has logged 16 catches on 23 targets.

Combined that is 33 catches on 53 targets (62% catch rate) and he is averaging 18.3 yards-per-catch (which says he has stretched the field both after the catch and at the intermediate route level).

Washington had a 44% snap count in 2020 and 32% in 2021 (injury).

That breakdown worked out to 120 pass plays and 164 run plays in 2020. Then in 2021, he was in for 133 pass plays and 182 runs.

Looks tough in the end zone

This is where I think Washington will thrive at the next level – – in the red zone – – specifically in the end zone.

He will have a height advantage over every linebacker and defensive back in the NFL.

It’s going to be like watching the big man in the NBA who dominates in the paint.

#0 Darnell Washington 6-foot-7, 270 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: First-Round – Early Fall 2022 Report

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Projected by 9.2% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of October 26, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2020 game film: All targets (click to watch game film viewed to form this evaluation)

2021 game film: All targets (blocking film) Alabama, Tennessee, and Auburn

2021 stats: 10 receptions (13 targets) 154 yards (15.4 avg.), 1 TD, 32-long

Level of competition: High

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Aggressive with dominant size, athleticism, catch-radius and he works at it as a blocker. Big target short to intermediate. Releases into routes and uses his big muscular frame and strong hands to confidently catch. Showed good concentration tracking and looking the ball into his hands. Fluid looking running down the seam. Will go down for low passes. Not much of a jumper, but has an impressive reach. Decent ability to adjust, but not great. Not a quick twitch guy at the breakpoint, looks to out-muscle instead, but doesn’t come down with all of them. Got after it run blocking, but inconsistent sustaining and couldn’t make quick adjustments in space.

What to watch for during the 2022 college football season:

1. Catch production
2. Does he stay healthy (lower leg and foot injuries 2021)
3. Snap count
4. Ability to sustain run blocks

There is something special about him.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.