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Joel Klatt shares 'perfect fit' for Darnell Washington

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby: Kaiden Smith04/12/23kaiden__smith
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(Bachman/Getty Images)

One of the most interesting prospects of the 2023 NFL Draft if Georgia tight end Darnell Washington. Sharing the field with Mackey Award Winner Brock Bowers limited some of his production, but Washington brings some of the best physical tools of any prospect in this years draft. FOX analyst Joel Klatt has Washington being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in his latest mock draft

“I think it feels like a perfect fit right there,” Klatt said. “Now was he the best tight end on his team in college? No. But that’s because Brock Bowers would be the best tight end in this draft right now and he’s got to play another year of college football.”

Washington still managed to haul in 28 catches for 454 yards and two touchdowns last season, leading all Bulldogs players with 10 or more receptions in yards per catch with an impressive 16.2 yard average. He’s also a more than capable weapon in the running game with elite blocking ability at the position.

“I love Washington, I love his game and you give Joe Burrow another weapon. This Georgia team was better offensively than I think we give them credit, Washington was a big reason, obviously Bowers. This guy is physically very gifted and talented, I think that he can play inline, he can help them in the run game if needed,” Klatt said.

Washington was a highly touted recruit out of high school, boasting a five-star rating ranked the No. 2 tight end in the country from the 2020 class according to On3’s Industry Rankings. He measured in at 6-foot-7, 264 pounds at this year’s NFL Combine and put his athleticism on display for a performance that would get any NFL scout excited.

NFL’s Next Gen Stats gave Washington a 91 athleticism score at this year’s combine, ranking second among tight ends. He ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash, jumped 31-inch vertical jump, and had the fastest 20-yard shuttle time of all the tight ends coming in at 4.08 seconds. Which was all capped off with an impressive field workout that he finished with an impressive one handed grab reminiscent of a Bengals wide receiver that could benefit from having Washington on his squad.

“But more than anything you take some of the stress off of their outside players right, Jamar (Chase), those guys, and you give them some help in the red zone by solidifying the middle of the field, that makes a lot of sense to me,” Klatt concluded.