Highly regarded OT Darnell Wright, TE Darnell Washington among pre-draft visits to Steelers
A pair of prospects expected to be considered in the range of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first two picks were hosted by the team Tuesday, nine days before the draft starts.
Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright and Georgia tight end Darnell Washington joined Houston quarterback Clayton Tune as official visits. Aside from any other local prospects who do not count toward the allotted limit of 30, this is expected to conclude the annual parade of draft prospects hosted by the Steelers in advance of the April 27-29 draft in Kansas City.
darnell wright throwing dudes out the club pic.twitter.com/YzitABOADK
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 13, 2023
The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Wright is a consensus late-first round pick. A compilation of various mock drafts by nflmockdraftdatabase.com — a site that tracks mock drafts from various outlets — lists Wright as the consensus selection of the Steelers with the 17th overall pick.
The Steelers also hold the No. 32 selection, in the neighborhood where the 6-7, 264-pound Washington is projected.
Clayton Tune DEEP to Tank Dell????????
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 10, 2022
Tune (6-2 ½, 220) is considered a late-round prospect after wrapping up a five-year college career by ranking third in the country in passing touchdowns (40), seventh in passing yards (4,047) and sixth in total offense (4,618) in 2022. An all-American Athletic Conference selection, Tune completed 67.3% of his passes last season.
The Steelers have only two quarterbacks on their offseason roster — starter Kenny Pickett and veteran backup Mitch Trubisky — and will add two more before the start of training camp in July.
Though the Steelers have what appears to be a quality tight ends corps in Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry and Connor Heyward, Washington is an intriguing prospect in large part because of his size and blocking ability.
Though Washington was Georgia’s No. 2 receiving tight end (28 catches, 454 yards, two touchdowns) during its run to a second consecutive national title this past fall, he started 14 of the Bulldogs’ 15 games and was heavily-utilized. The Steelers could view Washington as a potential complement for Freiermuth the way he was for Mackey Award-winning tight end Brock Bowers for Georgia.
You remember that kid in 7th grade who was just laughably bigger than everyone else, making him the first pick at recess regardless of sport?
I get that same feeling when watching Darnell Washington pic.twitter.com/zebU07E3JA
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 16, 2023
Washington often lined up next to Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones last season. Like Jones, Wright is an SEC tackle projected to be a first-round pick. The Steelers hosted Jones for a visit Monday. They are expected to address offensive tackle with one of their early choices.
A four-year starter who flipped back and forth between the right and left side, Wright is considered more natural on the right side. According to Pro Football Focus, Wright did not allow a sack in 2022 and his 99.1% pass block efficiency rate (eight pressures allowed) all season was fourth-best in the country.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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