Kovacevic: Washington's being brought along one Hulk-smash at a time

LATROBE, Pa. -- "Hey, Eight-Oh!"

Mike Tomlin was barking toward Darnell Washington maybe 20 feet away, though his boom probably reverberated out to Greensburg.

"Eight-Oh! Anytime I see him," he'd add, pointing to T.J. Watt, "I want to see you!"

First day of pads. First "varsity" day of the Steelers' training camp, per the head coach. Backs on backers. Same corner of Chuck Noll Field as it's been forever on this cloudy, blissfully cool Tuesday afternoon at Saint Vincent College.

Nobody loves this more than Tomlin. No one could. I could try to describe that or I could just share this shot by team photographer Karl Roser:

KARL ROSER / STEELERS

Mike Tomlin smiles at the Steelers' training camp practice Tuesday in Latrobe, Pa.

That, my friends, was a cat dining on canaries all damned day.

Sure enough, when Watt lined up for the first time, Washington was paired. And I'm not going to lie: Standing at the back of the end zone, I was ready to love this. The NFL's premier edge rusher. The gargantuan rookie tight end who called himself "the six man" in college. Half of everyone in the fold watching in a semi-circle.

And ... pffffffffffft! It was a big bore. All 6 feet 7, 269 pounds of Washington swallowed Watt whole. He waited, withstood the rush, held his ground.

Tomlin, visibly unsatisfied at what he'd hoped would deliver real drama, set those two up again.

Pffffffffffft! Same stuff. Tomlin silently nodded, and almost no one else made a sound, either.

Then, a few minutes later, he turned to Alex Highsmith.

Pffffffffffft! Highsmith proved more elusive with a late spin but wasn't any more impactful.

In days gone by, this was when Tomlin would've summoned James Harrison for his lone rep. Instead, with the last alignment, as if clinging to any possibility of a climactic outcome, Tomlin offered another rookie, Nick Herbig, a try. And this kid, unlike the vets, opted not to try to run through the Great Wall of Washington but, rather, raised his left arm while blowing by him to the right side. Close to zero contact, but the optimal result.

The wooing, the hollering from the defensive side was deafening. But the message couldn't have resonated more clearly with the true target.

"I really like it a lot," Washington would say afterward of being challenged as he was. "You've got to face it head-on, going against a high-caliber guy like T.J. All eyes are on you at that point. You've got to go into things like that confident."

And did Tomlin see what he wanted?

"You know, for today," he'd guardedly reply. "He's got a certain skill set. His reputation precedes him. And we're going to make him confirm it every day."

Read into that what one will. Washington hadn't been having an eye-opening camp to date. But then, that was pre-pads, when the only physical presence he could cast was on an inanimate sled, as I'd film him doing on this day before the humans got involved:

This is what he does, and it's what he did in Georgia, too:

ADEEN RAO

The figure in the bottom right corner should stick out as much was Washington in the team's cafeteria line.

Which isn't to suggest he can't contribute to the offense in other ways. Part of the reason he'd been seen as one of the top tight ends in the 2023 NFL Draft was that he'd made 45 catches in his Georgia career for 774 yards, and he's already shown a flash of that here, as well.

Including his first touchdown of camp on this day:

ABIGAIL DEAN / STEELERS

Darnell Washington catches a touchdown in front of James Pierre Tuesday in Latrobe, Pa.

Before this session, Kenny Pickett praised Washington for his route-running, his aerial adjustments to the ball and more, saying, "Darnell's doing a great job, working hard. He's got a lot of stuff going in. I'm sure his mind's going a hundred miles per hour. But it'll slow down for him. I'm just excited about the way he's showing up and working. He's mentally locked in. Everything else will come."

The future tense, intentional or not, is appropriate. Anyone envisioning the second coming of Eric Green will be disappointed. He's not that. Sure, when he catches it, he can and his frame can collect all kinds of momentum. But the technique and execution need work. He's not Pat Freiermuth in that regard. He's not Connor Heyward. He's not even Zach Gentry, I dare say.

And that's just fine by everyone on the inside. Tomlin, Matt Canada and Alfredo Roberts are planning to develop/deploy Washington, first and foremost, as a bookend blocker and, second, as a surprise target.

But the primary weapon's no secret, as this video shot by a fan in the stands powerfully reinforces:

Pay no mind here to Pickett or even Diontae Johnson's touchdown. Just watch Washington, whose pre-snap motion takes him to the right, hunting down Mark Robinson -- maybe the roster's most physical, punishing hitter -- and keeping him off the quarterback long enough for Pickett's rollout to present an unencumbered view.

That's beautiful football. And it's precisely the brand being espoused for these Steelers from Art Rooney II on down. The aim's always to be physical, but it's receiving a fresh -- occasionally fiery -- emphasis from Tomlin and, following up, everyone else, too.

With Washington, as Pickett indicated, they're taking it slowly. One Hulk-smash at a time.

THE FEED: Tons more from camp, including my observations, are right here.