2023 NFL Draft: Should the Jaguars Consider Georgia's Darnell Washington at No. 24?
The 2023 NFL Draft season is upon us.
Among the 32 teams building their rosters to compete for the next Lombardi Trophy is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold nine picks in this season’s draft -- including the No. 24 overall pick.
As we march closer and closer to April’s draft, we will look at individual draft prospects and how they would potentially fit with the Jaguars. Instead of looking at any negatives, we are going to look at what the players do well and if they could match what the Jaguars need at the specific role or position.
This time, we take a look at Georgia tight end Darnell Washington.
Overview
One of the biggest tight end recruits in recent memory -- literally and figuratively -- Washington was seen as a star coming out of Las Vegas' high school football ranks. He was ranked as a five-star recruit by 247Sports as the nation's No. 23 overall recruit, the No. 2 athlete and the top recruit in Nevada. He played both ways in high school, while also lettering in basketball.
Washington ultimately committed to Georgia as a part of the 2020 class, but first he drew over 30 offers. This included programs like Alabama, Florida, Miami, Tennessee, Clemson, FSU, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and USC. But despite offers from really any program a recruit could dream of, it was always Georgia for Washington.
Washington started seven games as a true freshman but was used sparingly in the passing game, catching seven passes for 166 yards. He started six games in 2021 after missing the first four games to injury, ending the year with 10 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. Washington's career year came in 2022, starting 12 games and catching 28 passes for 454 yards and two touchdowns.
What Darnell Washington Does Well
In a game built around physical specimens who are among the best athletes in the entire world, Washington still stands out instantly. He is the type of player who you want to get off the bus before anyone else, standing at a towering 6-foot-7, 270 pounds. No matter the opponent, Washington's goliath-like frame and imposing physicality pop off the tape.
As a run-blocker, Washington is devastating on drive blocks and can create movement in the running game with consistency. He has the natural strength and physicality to match with defensive ends in the running game and can wash them out of the play with his length and grip-strength. He also shows good athleticism, balance and reaction-speed when asked to block on the move, frequently hitting his aiming points and creating a running lane behind him. Whether used to get on the perimeter as a lead blocker on toss plays or as the lead blocker on split-zone runs, Washington was given a loaded plate of blocking responsibilities at Georgia, and he thrived in all of them. No matter the running game a team employs, Washington can fit into it.
Washington also brings value as a pass-blocker, an underrated trait at tight end. He moves well in space and has the flexibility and coordination to be left on an island with defensive ends, even on non-play-action plays. Washington's size, frame, length, and core strength make him like a sixth offensive lineman when left in as a blocker, which could create a lot of mismatches for a blocking scheme.
As a pass-catcher, Washington was a big-play threat each time he got the ball. He is inexperienced as a route-runner and has some natural limitations due to his size, but his low 45 career catch total still resulted in 17.2 yards per catch (774 career yards). His best year came in 2022, which is a good sign for his progression in this regard. For now, his biggest positive as a pass-catcher is his ability to create yards after the catch when put into space. With his size and speed combination, breaking tackles comes easy.
How Darnell Washington Would Fit With the Jaguars
The Jaguars have a lot of questions at tight end entering the 2023 offseason. While Evan Engram appears to be on the verge of signing a long-term deal with the Jaguars, Jacksonville still needs to sort out the position over the next coming months due to their current depth chart. They are losing 594 snaps in between Chris Manhertz (427) and Dan Arnold (167) in free-agency unless they sign them to extensions.
If/when Engram returns, the Jaguars will have two tight ends from last year's 53-man roster in him and Luke Farrell. Engram is the F-tight end, while Farrell can play both but was mostly used as a blocker last year. This means the Jaguars have a wide-open spot at starting Y-tight end, a spot Washington could fill fairly easily.
Manhertz was mostly a blocker for the Jaguars last year: a split that Pro Football Focus has down as 276 run blocking plays, 57 pass blocking plays and 87 plays in which Manhertz ran a route. If the Jaguars were to take Washington, one would hope the number of routes would increase by quite a bit ... but in terms of replacing Manhertz as a blocker, Washington is a perfect fit.
If the Jaguars want their second tight end to play a big role in the passing game, there are other options in the draft that makes sense for their roster. But if they want a player who can be in the Manhertz mold, it is hard to make an argument that any player is a better pure fit than Washington.
Verdict
There are few other tight ends in this class who present the upside that Washington brings to the table. The massive target is exactly as advertised as a blocker and has the athletic traits to develop into a player who can have a hand in the passing game, even if he isn't helping carry a passing attack.
With that said, Washington isn't the ready-made pass-catcher that other tight ends in the league are. There is a real chance it could be until Year 3 that teams start to see the production poor in for Washington in that aspect. While he would be a dominant blocker and a good stylistic fit with Evan Engram, it is hard to justify a blocking tight end who is a project receiver at No. 24 overall. Good player, but hard to consider it the right pick for a pass-first team.
