Will Steelers wideout James Washington become the next Hines Ward?


… many like Reggie Wayne are high on the second-rounder

The reviews for James Washington after the Steelers selected him as their second-round pick, the 60th overall, in 2018, were superb. After his 2017 season at Oklahoma State, he received the Biletnikoff Award that is emblematic of the top college receiver in the country.

He caught 226 passes for 4,472 yards and 39 TDs in his college career. Many of those were from Mason Rudolph, whom the Steelers also selected in the third round of the same draft.

Nevertheless, Washington fell to the seventh receiver selected in the 2018 draft.

Why?

Washington lacks some physical tools

Primarily, he fell because of size and speed. He is only 5-11, and his speed is just about 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, and those are not impressive numbers.

A story about how few 5-foot, 11-inch receivers, actually sub 6-foot receivers, in Pro Football Reference noted that only two receivers under that since 2000 have been drafted,

In fact, the last time the combine had a sub-6-foot receiver who weighed more 210 pounds was 2005.

Just two such players have been drafted this millennium, according to Pro Football Reference: Josh Reed by Buffalo in 2002 and Adrian Madise by Denver in 2003. Reed was a second-round pick who went on to a solid career; Madise was a special-teamer for one season before washing out of the league. That won’t happen to Washington.

Washington told SB Nation how he uses that size to his advantage against defensive backs.

“Strength and vertical,” he explained. “Most DBs that I went against are fairly small, and the fact that I’m 215, it really helps going up against a smaller guy. Just being fearless, not caring what’s gonna happen.”
Alex Kirshner, SB Nation, April 27, 2018 

Reggie Wayne believes in Washington

However, one former NFL great receiver thinks that Washington has the tools to be a great receiver. Reggie Wayne was a former six-time pro bowl receiver who starred with the Indianapolis Colts.

Wayne said this about Washington on the NFL Network,

“This is another year under this system where [James Washington] can learn to be a professional. Also another year where he can learn that offense and get on the same page with Big Ben, right? We saw little glimpses of what he could do towards the end of the season last year… He has all the potential in the world to be a big-time receiver in this league.”

Reggie Wayne, NFL Network

That is high praise from a receiver who caught 1,070 passes for 14,345 yards and 82 touchdowns in his career.

Steelers high on Washington despite rough 2018

The Steelers are still very optimistic that Washington will develop into a top-tier receiver for them despite an erratic year, though one in which he demonstrated glimpses of tremendous promise.

He finished the year with just 16 receptions for 217 yards and one touchdown — a veritable disappointment.

With the departure of the superly-talented but troubled Antonio Brown, the second spot is open, and Washington will have a chance to secure that. According to Pro Football Talk, Coach Mike Tomlin is very optimistic that Washington will have a breakout season this year,

Tomlin said that he felt comfortable with the current group of receivers because he thinks 2018 second-round pick James Washington will do more this year. Tomlin said that the Steelers “expect great things” in Washington’s second season.

April 2017

Another Hines Ward? He will have to prove that

When Washington was drafted, some commentators were saying that he could be a sleeper for the Steelers, just like Hines Ward, the former Georgia quarterback who was a third-round pick but became the team’s leading receiver in history.

That may have been wishful thinking or hyperbole, but Washington has shown glimpses of that potential. However, doing so on a regular basis is what will make dreams become reality. 

And remember, that number 84 for the Steelers was a sixth-round selection. 

And Hall of Famer John Stallworth, who won four Super Bowls with Lynn Swann on the other side, was a fourth-round pick. So, the Steelers have some history here.

Washington looked good in the preseason last year, but he was playing behind JuJu Shuster, who is now the number 1 receiver and was number 2 last season, and Brown.

Now, he will have his chance.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-po...
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably,...
Read more

Why did Mike Tomlin start hiring black coaches after 15 years?

Image
Brian Flores … hiring Flores probably rankled Goodell To place this into context, understand that the only reason that the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago is because he was black.  Why? He had never even been a coordinator anywhere, never in the NFL. The only reason that he was interviewed was because of the “Rooney Rule.” That rule is one named after the late Dan Rooney who led the effort to force every NFL team to interview at least one black coach when it had head coaching openings.  The Steelers had focused their coaching search after Bill Cowher left on Ron Rivera, then a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Their interview with Tomlin was a peremptory one, something to satisfy the smell test.  After all, why interview a guy who was just a defensive coach? Coordinators are the people who are hired for the big gig.  Tomlin, though, is a great talker, and he wooed Dan Rooney so much that he was hired for the position.  Which begs the q...
Read more