Draft Profile: Georgia Bulldogs Tight End Darnell Washington

NFL Scouting Report for Georgia Bulldogs TE Darnell Washington

Number: 0

Position: TE

Bench Press: 21 reps

20-yard shuttle: 4.08

Background: Started 27 of 36 games for the Georgia Bulldogs, including seven as a freshman. In 2021, Washington missed three weeks due to a foot injury. Washington suffered another foot injury in the spring of 2022. Later in the year, Washington injured his ankle (contusion) against Ohio State but was available for the National Championship.

Strengths

Washington displays good initial quickness in the passing game on single-move releases, primarily aligned as an in-line tight end. He has very good play strength to fight through pressure vs. press defenders. He has good use of hands at the line of scrimmage, specifically with swim moves to clear press. Regarding separation ability, Washington has good use of hands at the top of routes. His play strength is a handful for defensive backs and helps create separation from DB contact at the breakpoint. Washington also displayed a solid ability to manipulate DBs with head fakes at the top of routes to create separation. Washington is good on scramble drills when plays break down, displaying good football instincts to mirror the quarterback’s scramble path. He utilizes his play strength at times with good competitiveness to work back into the quarterback’s vision and disengage from defenders when plays break down.

Washington has overall good manual dexterity and concentration as a pass catcher. He has good hands on stationary targets and while on the move. He has very good hands in contested situations. Washington shows good adjustments above and below his frame. He has solid adjustment ability when fully extending for passes. On contested catches, Washington’s biggest asset is his frame. Washington wins at the catchpoint with very good grip strength, physical toughness, and ball security on contact with defenders. He shows a solid high-point ability but does display a consistent willingness to leave his feet on all areas of the field. Washington showcases very good YAC ability with power due to his frame and overall play strength. Has effective stiff arms primarily due to his arm length creating issues for defenders. He displays solid elusive traits and football instincts to roll with tackle attempts that allow him to shake defenders off of him. He has a solid ability to manipulate his frame; because most defenders attempt to tackle him below his knees, he takes advantage by hurdling over them.

Washington displays good initial quickness at the snap as a run blocker, which can help him get in position as an in-line blocker. Solid as a backside Post blocker on zone runs. On the second and third levels, Washington displays very good physical toughness and play strength on screens as a playside blocker. As an H-back, he has good initial quickness and acceleration when pulling as a lead block with good strength on contact and grip strength when engaged at the point of attack. He also has solid hand placement on slice blocks as an H-back, and good vision, acceleration, and assignment awareness on kickout blocks. Washington’s raw strength and physical toughness are mostly displayed in his 1v1 blocks, where he can move defenders against their will on base and down blocks.

Weaknesses

As a receiver, Washington displays marginal acceleration and foot speed on vertical stems vs. press. Additionally, Washington has adequate foot speed vs. off coverage to close DB cushions. From a separation standpoint, Washington will struggle to separate with athletic ability. He displays marginal explosiveness/burst at the breakpoint on full-speed routes. Furthermore, Washington shows below-average change of direction and quickness at the breakpoint. After the catch, Washington displays marginal YAC ability with speed/acceleration and also shows too much reliability on hurdling defenders, which sometimes impacts his ability to maximize YAC.

As a run blocker, while he could dominate at the college level due to his frame and play strength, Washington has to continue developing from a technical standpoint. At times he does not position himself well at the point of attack, along with improper pad level allowing defenders to shed blocks quickly. The NFL will provide Washington with new challenges because most defenders are technically sound at the point of attack, which will even out the playing field against Washington.