The Weight Issue: The Simple, Yet Especially Heavy Terror of the Pittsburgh Steelers
In The Huddle
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The principle of the Jumbo Package is simple: the offense swaps out lighter players (wide receivers or running backs) for extra, big blockers. Think of it as a sixth offensive lineman, lined up as a tight end. The reason is easy to guess: create as much mass as possible at the line of scrimmage to pound the ball across the line. It’s a declaration of war: we are going to run the ball, and you are not going to stop us.
Why the Steelers’ Version is the ‘Version on Steroids’
he Pittsburgh Steelers have taken the traditional ‘Jumbo Package’ and transformed it into an almost unstoppable unit, and the key to this upgrade is tight end Darnell Washington.
Darnell Washington, selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, is no ordinary tight end. His physical presence is incredible: officially listed as 6-foot-7 (2.01 meters) and weighing over 265 lbs (120+ kg). Some teammates are even openly suggesting he is closer to 300 pounds (140 kilograms).
By placing Washington in the formation, often next to an extra offensive lineman (like Spencer Anderson in the role of an ‘eligible’ TE), the Steelers can literally line up with seven offensive linemen. Washington’s blocking skills are already elite. He takes defensive ends and linebackers completely out of the play, allowing the Steelers’ running game to achieve solid success in these heavy packages. But because Washington is also much more than just a blocker, the formation is so successful for the Steelers.
Below you can see how Washington was often used in college at Georgia: as an (excellent) extra blocker.
Due to his enormous stature, Washington is an indefensible target for a pass in the red zone (inside the 20-yard line). Even if a defender is close, Washington’s catch radius is gigantic. The threat of a play-action pass to Washington from the Jumbo formation forces the defense to keep a cornerback or safety in coverage instead of focusing all attention on the run. This splits the defense and opens the gaps the offense wants to exploit for the run. It removes the defense’s “certainty.”
Spencer Anderson is eligible
The momentum of the Jumbo package for the Steelers took shape in Dublin when they faced the Minnesota Vikings. Spencer Anderson had a notable game: as the sixth offensive lineman, he was allowed to play no less than 19 (!) snaps. That is 36 percent of all offensive snaps, lined up as an extra “tight end.” To put that into perspective: he played more snaps than “starting tight end” Pat Freiermuth (15) and Jonnu Smith (13). The experiment worked: 131 rushing yards against the Steelers, with seven of the eight most productive run plays coming from the jumbo look featuring Spencer Anderson.
The Reaction to Light Defenses
In recent years, many defenses have adopted the ‘2-High Shell’ (two safeties deep) or ‘Nickel’ (five defensive backs) as their base defense to stop the deep passing game. The unintended consequence of this is that defenses have become lighter and faster but less physical at the line of scrimmage. Teams like the Steelers (with Jumbo) are now using heavier formations to punish these light defenses with a physical running game, especially on short distances. Even coaches known for their air-it-out, modern offenses (like Sean McVay of the Rams) and defensive specialists (like Mike Macdonald of the Seahawks) are turning to this ‘Big Boy Football’ to establish a physical identity.
In short: The NFL as a whole is using heavier formations (12 and 13 Personnel) more often than before to punish defenses that are too light. However, the Steelers have taken this trend to an extreme level with their ‘Jumbo Package on Steroids,’ by using a unique player like Darnell Washington to maximize mass and passing threat, even far from the goal line.