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WR Nate Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers

HT: 6-1, WT: 185, Born: 8-28-1983, College: Tiffin, Drafted: ---

2008 Projections

Best Case

Nate Washington is the Steelers number three WR entering the 2008 season. He is coming off a 29 reception, 450-yard, 5 TD season, finishing as the 63rd ranked fantasy WR. If Washington is going to improve on those numbers, it will most likely come from a bump in targets due to an injury ahead of him on the depth chart. Another possibility for increased numbers is if veteran WR Hines Ward really hits the wall that some think might begin this year. The best case scenario for Washington is 45-50 receptions for 650 yards and 5-6 TDs. That scenario could happen if an injury opens up more playing time, or Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense really takes flight.

Worst Case

The worst case scenario for Nate Washington is that he is squeezed out by rookie WR Limas Sweed, thus moving him to only four WR formations, which would be less time on the field and decreased numbers as a result. Such a scenario would give him 20-25 receptions at the most for 370 yards and 1-3 TDs.

Outlook

The likely outlook for Nate Washington is close to what he did last year (29 rec, 450 yards and 5 TDs) with probably less TD receptions. The play of rookie Limas Sweed should dictate how often Washington is counted on in the Steelers offense as a number three or number four WR. The chances of QB Ben Roethlisberger reaching 32 TD passes for the second year in a row is unlikely, however he should still be able to achieve TDs in the low to mid twenties. The projected high number of TD passes from Roethlisberger should give Washington some fantasy value, but he's not someone to count on week in and week out.

2008 Schedule

2007 Game Summaries

Week 2 - Washington was targeted four times, mostly downfield. He had a pretty leaping catch on a high throw in heavy traffic, but also dropped a pass.

Week 3 - Washington did not catch a pass as both balls thrown to him were off target.

Week 4 - Washington started the game in place of Hines Ward and caught two passes for 18 yards. He did have potential though as he was targeted seven times including twice deep down the right sideline.

Week 5 - Washington figured to be busier than this, given that Ward and Holmes were out. He did catch everything that was thrown to him, but unfortunately that didn't amount to much.

Week 7 - Washington had one catch, and it was a big one. He caught a deep ball over the Denver defense on Pittsburgh's first third down of the game.

Week 8 - Washington did not see much playing time, and was only targeted once on a deep pass which he dropped.

Week 9 - Washington had a great first half, both of his receptions were for touchdowns, the first for 30 yards and the second was for seven yards. He added one more pass for 14 yards in the second half.

Week 12 - Washington was barely involved in the Steelers attack but came up with a catch on his only passing target.

Week 13 - All of Washington's targets came in the first as half and both of his catches came on the Steelers' first touchdown scoring drive. He took his second reception down to the Cincinnati two yard line.

Week 15 - Washington's only reception was a 30 yard touchdown strike. He came down unnaturally on his left leg and left with the injury, but later returned to the game.

Week 16 - Washington caught a 17 yard touchdown pass on the Steelers' first drive of the game as QB Ben Roethlisberger found him in the corner of the end zone. His second catch of the game was another touchdown catch as Roethlisberger hit him on a perfectly thrown pass for 33 yards in the end zone. Washington made a nice catch as the defender would have been penalized for pass interference had he not caught the ball. He finished the first half with 50 yards receiving. He would not catch a pass in the second half.

Week 17 - Washington wiggled free from a defender for a first down on second and six which helped to setup the Steelers third and final score of the day.

Week 18 - Washington was only able to catch one of the four balls thrown his way. He was targeted on a fade route on a two point conversion attempt that was not thrown very well.