Darnell Washington locked in on life-changing 2023 NFL Draft
The 2023 NFL Draft is almost hear and freakishly-talented Georgia tight end Darnell Washington is sure to hear his name called. It might happen in round one on Thursday night but if not then, by the end of day two is almost a sure thing.
Whenever that times comes, Washington will be ready for it. In a recent video posted from the official twitter account of Georgia Football, the 6-foot-7 260-pound weapon said he couldn’t make any promises about how emotional he will or won’t get.
He’ll be excited but with two young children of his own and the family who helped him get to this point by his side, those emotions might be tough to fight off. The video, which lasted almost two minutes, features commentary from Washington on growing up in Las Vegas, his playing style, and the nickname given to him shortly after he got to Georgia in 2020.
“When I step on the field, I’m a different breed, a different person,” Washington said. “When I get the ball in my hands, I like to showcase what I’ve got. My style of play, I like to play aggressive. I like to dominate people. My nickname, people called me during college, was Big O. I’m big and I wore number zero. The first time somebody called me that, I just kept walking. I told them, I was like, ‘who’s Big O?’ And they were like, ‘you.’ Ever since then I embraced the Big O nickname.”
When Georgia signed Washington in that 2020 class, he was the nation’s No. 24 overall prospect and No. 2 tight end per the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the No. 1 prospect in Nevada. The Bulldogs had to fight off Alabama for his signature and he began making an impact right away.
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Washington had a 26-yard catch in his first Georgia game but didn’t have a second catch, which went for 33 yards, until a few games later. That freshman season was inconsistent and injuries hampered his production during his sophomore season as he started the year on the shelf with a broken foot.
But he came back with a vengeance in 2022, hauling in a career-high 28 catches for 454 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also put his toughness on display in the National Championship game vs. TCU. After being having his ankle/foot stepped on awkwardly against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, Washington was doubtful for the entire lead-up to the title game. Then, when the game started, he was right there — lining up at tight end.
As we all know, Georgia dominated that game.
We last saw Washington at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. There he turned heads with a 40-yard dash time of 4.64 seconds and a 10-yard split of 1.57 seconds. He also had a broad jump of 10-feet two inches and ran the 20-yard shuttle in 4.08 seconds.
