Back in 2020, the Cincinnati Bengals signed an interesting undrafted free agent by the name of Scotty Washington.
Washington, a big 6’5″ wideout, looked like a guy who might be able to have an Auden Tate-type of rise for the Bengals. He ended up bouncing around the practice squad though and as recently as last December popped up as a tryout for the team.
Now part of the team again and making the transition to tight end, Washington’s shown good progress in the minds of someone like tight ends coach James Casey, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“He’s re-branded himself a tight end and we’re going to work with him. He’s a big fast, strong guy. There’s a lot of nuance to playing tight end. Really, after the quarterback, the tight end has to know the most. He has to learn to block in both the pass game and the run game and he has to have good enough technique to block guys like Myles Garrett on the edge and in the run game you’re not just going down there blocking the ‘C’ Gap. It will be a process, the kind of thing he just has to get better at every day. He really looks good with the weight he’s put on and I’m excited to work with him.”
The Bengals say Washington has gone from his undrafted 217 pounds to 247 now. With the size/bulk concern out of the way, his progress toward learning the new position could be a boon for both player and team.
Besides signing Hayden Hurst in free agency, the Bengals surprised some fans by not doing much at tight end after C.J. Uzomah left. That leaves Mitchell Wilcox and Thaddeus Moss to fight it out behind Drew Sample.
But maybe this big change for Washington, who has been in the building a number of years with this staff now, is something they’ve been taking into consideration.
