#Steelers WR Diontae Johnson admitted today he was hitting the "Rookie Wall" but has gotten some good advice from his teammates on how to cope, specifically w/nutrition and rest. Said 16-game season as much of a mental grind as a physical one.
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) December 19, 2019
It is an all-too-common to hear about NFL rookies hitting the rookie wall. It’s a product of multiple factors. Most college players play a shorter season and don’t play the quality of opponent week in and week out. Additionally, if you track the timeline of most rookies, they go straight from their final season of college straight into draft prep then once they are on a team are almost immediately thrust into training camps and OTAs. It can turn into a full two years of football with very little downtime.
This sounds like what rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson is dealing with. He admitted he’s hitting the rookie wall but says some of his veteran teammates are helping him work through it.
Johnson currently leads the Steelers in receptions (47), receiving yards (545( and receiving touchdowns (4). Johnson is also the team’s primary punt and kick returner and has one punt return touchdown.
Unfortunately, while the Steelers coaches have been able to adjust the workload of linebacker Devin Bush to help him deal with the rookie wall, injuries as wide receiver has meant Johnson cannot be afforded that luxury. Hopefully a return of JuJu Smith-Schuster this week will give Johnson an opportunity to lower his reps somewhat.
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