As a 6-foot-7 and a newly confirmed 311 pounds, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington always has been one of the biggest humans in any game he has played.

As such, he, by now, well knows that opponents are expecting him to turn to his size and physicality when he encounters a defender.

“You know, I don’t have a deep bag (of diverse skills). I’m not a Calvin Austin kind of guy,” Washington said Thursday of the 5-8, 160-pound receiver. “(A defender), you pretty much know what’s coming: either the (lowered) shoulder or the hurdle. Something like that, within that line (of options). So I guess they just go in with a plan or whatever.”

As exhibited by a handful of Cincinnati Bengals defensive players on multiple plays this past Sunday, those plans don’t always work out when trying to bring down the NFL’s biggest “skill” player.

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 17, 2025

Washington became a viral NFL sensation after his 31-yard catch and run during the second half of the Steelers’ 34-12 win in which he used a stiff-arm and a pair of lowered shoulders to overpower a trio of seemingly helpless Bengals defenders.

Earlier in the game, Washington showed athleticism via a hurdle that had to look like a mountain of a man reaching the sky from eye level.

And neither of those highlights touch on his biggest strength as a player: his offensive lineman-like blocking.

“Well, (defensive players are) getting scared of him, for sure,” Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, “which they should be, because he’s a mammoth. He jumped over a guy. He stiff-armed a guy to the ground, ran a guy over, made another guy miss a tackle. He had a block where he knocked two guys down.

“It’s not what you expect, but those are game-changing plays. He’s consistently, most of the season, made those plays.”

Only 10 games into the season, Washington already has a career high in receiving yards (209) and is one off his career high for catches (19, set last season). He has a touchdown, a 2-point conversion catch and another drawn pass interference call in the end zone that led to a Steelers touchdown.

He’s averaging 11.6 yards per catch, and 11 of his catches have accounted for first downs.

All this while his offensive tackle-like frame most often is performing offensive tackle-like duties.

Washington grades out as the NFL’s fourth-best run blocker among tight ends in Pro Football Focus’ subjective grading. He’s also in the top third in pass blocking. Counting his receiving skills he has been showing off more this season, Washington grades as the league’s 16th-best tight end.

Washington is listed at 264 pounds on the roster, an unbelievably inaccurate number that dates to when he worked with a trainer to put on a show at the 2023 NFL Combine (Washington ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds there).

After three seasons of playing coy about his actual weight, Washington this week let it slip on the St. Brown Podcast that he weighs 311 pounds.

Yes, that was a 311-pound man making four catches and hurdling over would-be tacklers this past Sunday.

“He’s a special athlete,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “He has unique talents. He’s certainly a tough guy to deal with in one-on-one tackle circumstances, and it makes him a force to be reckoned with.”

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