PITTSBURGH STEELERS TIGHT END DARNELL WASHINGTON | PHOTO BY TAYLOR OLLASON/PITTSBURGH STEELERS

When he wasn’t continuing the hard sell on how much he appreciates yinzers, complaining about how intrusive and insensitive the media can be to those in the public eye or waxing on about dogs, Aaron Rodgers actually spent some time during his latest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” talking about football.

Steelers fans should be encouraged.

Rodgers, without prompting, referenced one of the highlights of the recently completed veteran minicamp as one of the reasons he’s so excited to be with the Steelers.

It was a play made by tight end Darnell Washington that successfully completed an 11-on-11 2-minute drill for the offense.

“He caught a seam [route] down the middle against Cover 2,” Rodgers detailed. “I don’t know if it was Will [Howard] or Skylar [Thompson] that threw it. It was a great seed down the pipe and Darnell, hands catch, into the end zone.”

We’ll forgive Rodgers’ quarterback uncertainty in that particular instance (it was Howard, for the record).

What’s significant is he recognized the threat Washington can be in the passing game.

It’s about time someone associated with the Steelers noticed.

Washington, officially listed at 6-foot-7 and 264 pounds (he’s a lot heavier), is an inviting target. He’s not just massive, he’s athletic, even for a guy whose nickname is “Mount Washington” (his college tape includes breaking a tackle and then hurdling an Oregon defender following a reception).

And yet he’s been targeted just 35 times in the two seasons since the Steelers drafted him in the third round out of Georgia.

That’s just over once a game, which is unexplainable. Washington has turned those targets into  26 catches for 261 yards and one touchdown, which, for a player of Washington’s potential and physical skill set, is not nearly enough.

Rodgers has spoken for the record twice since joining the Steelers. On both occasions, Rodgers has cited Washington’s similarity to 19-year NFL tight end Marcedes Lewis, a 6-foot-6, 267-pound monster who spent five seasons with Rodgers in Green Bay.

Lewis’ receiving numbers will never be confused with Travis Kelce’s or any other of the NFL’s elite pass-catching tight ends, but Rodgers knew when to get Lewis the ball.

The presence of Pat Freiermuth at tight end has also won Rodgers’ attention. Freiermuth’s 17-game averages include 61 catches, 610 receiving yards and five scores in the four seasons since the Steelers made him a second-round selection out of Penn State.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS TIGHT END PAT FREIERMUTH | PHOTO BY KARL ROSER/PITTSBURGH STEELERS

He, too, can do more.

If only the Steelers would ask more from him.

“He’s a super-talented guy,” Rodgers insisted. “He can block at the point of attack. He can split out, run routes. He can run ‘choice’ routes. He can run ‘seam’ routes.”

Throw in Connor Heyward, a less traditional “Swiss Army Knife” at the position, and the Steelers, in Rodgers’ estimation, are well-stocked at tight end.

Well enough, perhaps, to compensate for their lack of depth at wide receiver.

Maybe now that Rodgers will be on the passing end of pitch-and-catch, they’ll actually take advantage of what they have in an effort to work around what they lack.

Of course, Freiermuth, Washington and Heyward were all on the team last season, a season in which the Steelers lacked depth at wide receiver and the offense was coordinated by noted tight end aficionado Arthur Smith.

And still the tight ends didn’t get the ball enough and the Steelers didn’t score enough.

Rodgers, in theory, at least, can potentially rectify that situation.

He already sounds like a guy intent on putting that theory to the test.

Mike Prisuta is the sports anchor/reporter for Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show. He’s also the host of the Steelers Radio Network Pregame Show and the color analyst for Robert Morris University men’s hockey broadcasts.