Parker Washington

Pos: WR

School: Penn State

Ht. 5’10″ 

Wt. 212

Games Watched: Ohio State(2022), Purdue(2022), Michigan(2022), Auburn(2021) 

One Liner: Stocky WR that uses plus athleticism to create separation and opportunities at the catch point. YAC player who thrives when the ball is in his hands, thus projecting as a slot receiver. 

Strengths: 

  • Elite YAC/RAC ability. Washington is known for his ability to break tackles, and is very rarely taken down by the first defender to make contact. This allows him to thrive in the short passing game with RPO’s, screens and option routes over the middle. 
  • Very good hands. Washington lets the ball glide into his hands and rarely drops the ball, after correcting some issues from 2021. 
  • Very good athletic ability. This is what allows Washington to dominate. His athletic ability allows for him to have solid release at the snap, utilize all sorts of body angles to make contested catches, and increase his YAC. His short area bursts from the slot are also in credit due to his pure athleticism. 
  • Good contested catch ability. Although he wasn’t put in many contested catch situations as he lined up predominantly from the slot, Washington had a few highlight reel catches that show his ability at the next level. He has an elite catch radius for a player his size, and his hands + athleticism allow him to compete for the football in press situations. 
  • Solid recognition and understanding of coverages.Washington showed his ability to adapt when defenses took the middle of the field away with buzz, flat zones and was able to find gaps in coverage often to create space for himself. Against hook linebacker zones, Washington was able to identify and find gaps in between nickel corners and the MIKE linebacker against Ohio State to secure catches over the middle of the field. 
  • Very good blocking ability for a receiver his size. Washington was a willing and oftentimes successful blocker, a rare trait and skill in receivers. In Penn State’s RPO heavy offense, Washington’s blocks and ability to seal off nickel corners + safeties would help receivers in the bubble screen game as well as zone runs. 

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate overall speed. Washington is not the fastest receiver on the field, and didn’t get to show his long speed much throughout college. His combine and pro day should be big indicators of whether or not he can play on the outside in the NFL. He was fast enough to make big plays against Ohio State in 2022, but his routes didn’t seem as fast as they did quick. 
  • Adequate release. Washington didn’t have elite footwork to beat press coverage when he was on the outside, and his size isn’t ideal to play against bigger corners. This can be refined at the next level, but his footwork off the release will need to improve as he plays tougher competition.
  • Adequate separation ability. Washington wasn’t really tested to separate much at the collegiate level, as he lined up predominantly in the slot and when he did line up on the outside he often faced off man coverage. This allowed for him to thrive in the short and medium game, but I do want to see him develop his separation and footwork in and out of his breaks, which look adequate as of now but have room to grow given his athleticism and understanding of how to beat coverage and defensive backs.

Overall Assessment: Parker Washington is an experienced wide receiver out of Penn State who broke out in his sophomore campaign, putting him on NFL radar. An injury towards the end of the season in 2022 cut his season short by 3 games. Washington projects as a versatile swiss army knife for NFL teams who like lining up receivers in the backfield. His build resembles a running back-receiver blend like Deebo Samuel. He’s able to overcome being a shorter receiver with really strong athletic ability that allows him to compete for the ball at the catch point and have a plus catch radius against talented and taller corners. Washington is a smart and nuanced receiver when it comes to his football IQ, and puts this to use against zone defenses who take the middle of the field away from him as a slot receiver. He is able to identify holes in zone coverages and take advantage of the spaces using timing and quick feet to create room for a pass. In Penn State’s run-heavy RPO scheme, Washington had the ability to showcase great short area quickness stemming from quickness and athleticism, but also demonstrated solid blocking ability, a rare trait from a receiver his size. In my opinion, Washington has NFL upside and his combine will be really telling of where he lands in the draft. If he has anything lower than 4.5 speed he should be an early 2nd round or even a late first round choice. His route running overall looks solid but playing out of the slot reduced the need to be shifty and twitchy with his feet. However, I want to see Washington look sharper in and out of his breaks with faster and quicker feet to create separation, something that is left to be desired on tape. He projects as a versatile weapon at the next level that teams will like. 

Pro Comp: Doug Baldwin / Smaller Amon Ra St. Brown

Scheme Fit: Run heavy RPO offense.

Pick Projection: Late Day 2 – Early Day 3

Grade: 6.23