Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson has been the epitome of an up-and-down player since joining the team. In 2021, he was able to eliminate a lot of those costly mistakes that he regularly made in the past. His 1,161 receiving yards and eight touchdowns were enough for him to earn his first career trip to the Pro Bowl.
Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Speculation began creeping in on his future in Pittsburgh. Steelers beat writer, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic even predicted that the star wideout would be gone after the 2022 season. He projected that the Green Bay Packers would sign him to a $93 million contract. Then, Steelers general manager Omar Khan stepped in and gave Johnson a two-year, $36.71 million contract extension out of nowhere.
This season, things haven’t gone as well. With former QB Ben Roethlisberger now enjoying retirement, Johnson no longer has his close counterpart. The new quarterbacks, Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, haven’t exactly confided in Johnson on the field in the way that Roethlisberger did. Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens have become go-to weapons in this offense, essentially making Johnson a third option at times.
The offense, led by Pickett, looked a bit better in the Week 10 win over the New Orleans Saints. The running game got going, which opened the game up for the offense. Johnson, who has become known for making head-scratching mistakes, made one of those against the Saints. On a play in which he caught the ball two yards past the first down marker, he came back behind the marker and ended up being short. Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette caught up with Johnson on that specific play:
Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
“[I was] just trying to make a play. You expect a defender to come a certain way sometimes and they don’t. Stuff happens," Johnson said via Batko. "It’s not like I try to do that on purpose. Just gotta make sure I’m going in the right direction next time.”
As fans know, Johnson has these moments. You ride with the good and the bad, as the good has mostly outweighed the bad in his career. He’s always been an east-west runner after the catch, trying to evade tacklers for the big play, reminiscent of the early-Antonio Brown days in Pittsburgh. Through nine games in 2022, Johnson has just 435 receiving yards and zero touchdowns.
If the black and gold want to make a run down the stretch, they’ll need a guy like Diontae Johnson to step up on the offensive side of the ball. His production has been far too inconsistent this season, some of which has to do with the quarterback play. The metrics still favor Johnson, as he continuously is one of the best wide receivers in the league at getting open. When he does get the ball though, he needs to be more conscience in situations like this one.
Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
What were your initial (frustrating) thoughts on this play from Johnson? What does the offense need from him moving forward? Are you confident that this team can indeed make a run at the playoffs? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and be sure to interact with our social media sites as well, yinz!
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