Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, was talked about a lot during the 2023 offseason as he was unable to find the end zone once during 2022. Regardless of not scoring any touchdowns, Johnson still had a productive season. He recorded 86 receptions and 882 yards, he did all of this with a lot of turnover in the quarterback room. Kenny Pickett was not named the starter until Week 5, therefore missing out on a lot of time to build chemistry with the rest of the offense.
Associated Press
Steelers' Kenny Pickett taking a snap against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pickett made a recent appearance on the Steel Here podcast, hosted by Jersey Jerry and Kevin Adams. The three talked about the obvious leap the Steelers offense has made, especially Pickett himself. Pickett talked some about having a full offseason as the starter has helped him improve his game and chemistry with the rest of the offense. Jerry then asked who on the offense he felt his connection has improved with the most.
"Yeah, definitely 18. You know Diontae, I didn't have a chance to rep with him as much obviously you know working the card offense. I never had a chance to rep with Diontae or George [Pickens] that much or even Pat [Freiermuth]. I think I really have a good feel for him [Johnson]. It started in the offseason throwing together and then getting all the reps in camp. I feel really good about our connection."
Pickett is coming off of his first full training camp as the starting quarterback for the Steelers, meaning he got to have a lot more reps in practice than he was getting in 2022 when he was behind Mitch Trubisky on the depth chart. During the time when he was the back-up, he was missing out on valuable practice time with the first-team offense and his receivers. Now that he is the bona fide starter, it has allowed him to have his connection and chemistry grow with his receivers more, and where they are at now is a lot different than when Pickett first came on the field in the 2022 season.
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Diontae Johnson and George Pickens will be the Steelers' two starting wideouts in 2023.
Growth From Pickett And His Receiving Corp
The growth in the connection between Pickett and his receivers, specifically Johnson, has been clear during the 2023 preseason. Pickett was rated as the best quarterback in the NFL in the preseason, finishing with a combined 158.3 passer rating across all three games, which is the highest a quarterback can receive. A lot of that had to do with the strong connection he has with his receivers, as he only had two incompletions in 15 passing attempts.
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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson turns up field after catching a pass from Kenny Pickett in training camp.
Pickett and Johnson connected on four passes that amounted to 65 yards in the preseason, including a beautiful 33-yard reception down the side line against the Atlanta Falcons. Pickett was able to spread the ball around well to all of the available weapons on the Steelers starting offense. The emergence of second-year wide receiver George Pickens will help both Pickett and Johnson. Pickett will have an elite target to throw to, and Johnson will benefit from defenses paying so much attention to Pickens that he might find it easier for himself to get open.
Johnson and Pickett have yet to connect on a touchdown pass in a game, however this year is looking like we will see many touchdowns between the duo. The Steelers offense has a magnitude of weapons, especially with the addition of Allen Robinson II in the slot and Calvin Austin III returning from injury, getting ready to make his NFL regular season debut. The Steelers offensively have a lot of factors a defense will need to focus on, which will give Pickett and the rest of the team great opportunities to succeed.
What do you think of Pickett's comments? Let us know in the comment section below!
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