TCU football’s Washington doesn’t have ideal NFL size, but safety ‘just makes plays’
TCU coach Gary Patterson feels NFL teams are asking the same questions he did when it comes to Ar’Darius Washington.
Washington checked in at just 5-foot-8, 178 pounds at TCU’s pro day on Friday, not the ideal size for today’s NFL safety.
“He wasn’t as big as I wanted him to be. He wasn’t as fast as I wanted him to be. All the above,” Patterson said. “But at the end of the day, he’s a guy who has a lot of passion for the game and he makes a lot of plays.”
That’s what Washington hopes NFL teams will see when they watch his film. This is a guy who had five interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2019 and ranked as one of the top safeties in the country, according to Pro Football Focus.
In 2020, Washington started all 10 games and finished with 37 tackles, including one tackle for loss and five pass breakups. He earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.
At the pro day, Washington reportedly ran a 40-yard dash in the 4.61-second to 4.63-second range. He also had a 37 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10 feet, 7 inch broad jump.
“I felt decent,” Washington said afterward. “Obviously there were a lot of things I could’ve done better, definitely from a technique standpoint. I felt overall I did pretty good.”
Now Washington, like his fellow TCU teammates, will wait and see where their stock is when the draft arrives in late April. Some experts project Washington as a third- or fourth-round pick, although it only takes one team to fall in love with a player for their draft position to increase significantly.
Washington believes he’ll bring a versatile defensive back to whichever team he lands on, saying he’s comfortable at every safety position as well as at nickel.
“Where do I see myself? Wherever the ball is to be honest,” Washington said. “If it’s going to be a run, I want to be in the box. If it’s going to be over the top, I want to be over the top. Right now I’m flexible to play any position they want me at. If they want me to play nickel, I’ll play nickel. If they want me to play safety, I’ll play safety. I’m going to be the best at either one.”
Washington feels he has similar traits as Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, another shorter safety in the league who is also from Louisiana. Washington raved about the “swagger” Mathieu plays with on the field.
In fact, Washington showed off a tattoo he got on his hand with a world with a crown on it, just like Mathieu has.
“That was one of the first tattoos I wanted,” Washington said. “I definitely pattern my game after him. I’m trying to be better than him.”
Easier said than done, of course, as Mathieu has been named first-team All-Pro three times in his eight-year career. But Washington has high hopes and aspirations as he readies for a pro career.
“I’ll bring a ball-hawking player [to the NFL],” Washington said. “Someone that’s going to make everyone else around him better. I can also bring leadership to the team. That’s a contagious thing, going out there and making plays that not everyone wants to. I think I’ll bring that to the team — definitely a competitor.”
The NFL draft is scheduled for April 29-May 1 in Cleveland.
This story was originally published March 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
