Tag: Diontae Johnson

ESPN snubs Steelers WR Diontae Johnson as sophomore star

Diontae Johnson is poised for a huge sophomore season.

Last season, one of the lone bright spots on offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers was the play of then-rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The team’s third-round pick in 2019, Johnson came in and after a slow start became the Steelers most explosive and reliable receiving option. Johnson finished the season with 59 receptions, 680 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

But this wasn’t enough for ESPN to include Johnson among their candidates as a sophomore superstar. Taking nothing about from any of those five players. They all had great rookie seasons. But when you consider the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh last season, what Johnson did was far more impressive. If you are looking for a receiver to break out in 2020, Johnson with a healthy Ben Roethlisberger under center is a great bet.

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What could Jets WR Robby Anderson do for the Steelers?

Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson is a free agent. Are the Pittsburgh Steelers interested?

New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson is on the free-agent market. Some say the Steelers need a more reliable WR.

The fifth-year pro out of Temple has put up some WR2 numbers in his career — all without stellar quarterback play.

Anderson has compiled 3,059 yards on 207 receptions and 20 touchdowns. His career-high came in 2017 when he had 941 receiving and seven TDs with Josh McCown at QB. Imagine what he could do with QB Ben Roethlisberger throwing him the rock.

Anderson is the kind of deep-threat option that the Steelers are looking for. According to Pro Football Focus, he was on the receiving end of 23 explosive pass plays (15+ yards) in 2019.

The problem isn’t with his production, but his price tag. Anderson is reportedly seeking north of $10 million. To put that in perspective, his desired salary is right around the neighborhood of Indianapolis Colts’ Devin Funchess, Miami Dolphins’ DeVante Parker, and New York Giants’ Sterling Shepard.

With a wealth of talent at the WR position in this year’s draft, the Steelers would rather risk/reward going with a rookie than pay Anderson — especially with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson at the head of the WR line in Pittsburgh.

 

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson works out with Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been training with former Steelers great Antonio Brown.

Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been getting some work in with former Steelers/Patriots/Raiders WR Antonio Brown recently.

This afternoon, Brown posted an Instagram story featuring several young athletes training at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Johnson, who resides in Tampa, was pictured in the social media post behind Brown.

Screenshot courtesy of Antonio Brown’s Instagram page

Jordan McCloud (not pictured) is a sophomore quarterback from the University of South Florida who has also been working out with Brown and Johnson.

It should come as no surprise that Johnson is training with Brown. The two are similar in stature — Brown, 5-10, 186 lbs. and Johnson, 5-11, 183 lbs. — and the WR emulates Brown’s playing style.

In Johnson’s first season, he had a rookie-best 59 catches. He was the Steelers’ leading receiver with 680 yards and five touchdowns — an impressive rookie season, especially considering the offense was in shambles.

If training with Brown helps Johnson improve upon those numbers this season, the Steelers are all the better for it.

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2020 NFL draft: WR Laviska Shenault NFL draft profile

Steelers Wire draft profile featuring Laviska Shenault (WR, Colorado)

During Laviska Shenault, Jr.’s three seasons with the Colorado Buffalos, he accumulated 1,943 yards on 149 receptions and 10 touchdowns. He also ran for 280 yards and added another seven touchdowns on the ground. On special teams, he returned a punt 55 yards for a score as a freshman and a kick 54 yards for a score.

Those numbers lead many to believe that Shenault is the most versatile receiver in the 2020 draft. Early mock drafts projected Shenault to go in the first round. Due to durability issues and questionable production, however, his stock may fall. It’s inevitable that players get injured – it can happen to any player at any time. Were the receiver’s modest collegiate stats could be due to the lack of a playmaker at QB? Should Shenault land with a team with a pass-heavy offense, we’ll get our answer.

Shenault possesses key attributes of a successful receiver – speed, explosiveness, and physicality. The areas that need to be developed – route-running, ball-tracking, and blocking – can be honed through experience and proper coaching at the pro level.

Laviska Shenault | WR | Colorado

Height | 6-2

Weight | 220

Class | Junior

College Bio

College Stats

It’s no secret that the Steelers love to draft receivers. Since taking over as general manager in 2000, Kevin Colbert has selected 22 receivers – only 2003, 2004 and 2011 were receiver-less drafts.

The Steelers have depth at the position; however, with JuJu Smith-Schuster set to become a free agent in 2021 and inconsistent film from Dionte Johnson and James Washington, Pittsburgh may want to snag the top-rated Shenault with its first pick (49th).

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2020 NFL draft: WR Tee Higgins NFL draft profile

Steelers Wire draft profile featuring wide receiver Tee Higgins (Clemson Tigers)

Tamaurice “Tee” Higgins, a projected first-round wide receiver, graduated Tennessee’s Oak Ridge High School as a five-star recruit. He initially committed to the University of Tennessee before changing to Clemson University.

Higgins appeared in seven games his freshman year and entered his sophomore season as a starter. Following a spectacular performance in his junior year, Higgins announced he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Tee Higgins | WR | Clemson University

Height | 6-4

Weight | 216

Class | Junior

College Bio

College Stats

In 30 starts (43 games) at Clemson, Higgins compiled 2,448 yards on 135 receptions. He scored a touchdown on 20 percent of his catches at Clemson, which resulted in being tied for the most receiving touchdowns in school history (27) with NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins. Higgins left Clemson as the only player in school history to record double-digit touchdown receptions in consecutive seasons.

Higgins can play in all three receiver spots — X, slot, and Z — which makes him a valuable asset to any team.

In a draft class that is chock-full of talented receiver prospects, Higgins has all the tangibles — size, speed, and pass-catching — to be a No. 1 receiver in the NFL.

Several teams are looking to upgrade at the receiver position, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently without a first-round pick. As we know, though, anything can happen. The Steelers are known to draft receivers high, and 2020 will be no different. Should the unlikely happen and Higgins is still available at 49, Pittsburgh will have themselves a towering target for Ben Roethlisberger. The versatile receiver would be an excellent addition to JuJu Smith-Schuster, Dionte Johnson, and James Washington.

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Steelers land 2 on Draft Wire’s Top 50 rookies of 2019

The Steelers had two of the best rookies in the NFL last season.

Our friends over at Draft Wire ranked the 50 best rookies from the 2019 NFL season. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the 2019 draft class was vital to the limited success the Steelers had last season. Out of the 50 top rookies on their list, two Steelers made it.

At No. 11 they had linebacker Devin Bush. Pittsburgh worked out a trade to move up 10 spots in order to land the former Michigan State star. Bush was solid all season and ended up the leading tackler on the team with 109 total tackles. Bush saw a dip is snaps mid-season to keep him fresh and his number of splash plays fell off a bit.

Moving down to No. 28 they had wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson was the best receiver on the team for the bulk of the season. He led the team with 59 receptions and was second on the team with 680 receiving yards. He also led the team with five touchdown catches. Johnson, along with all the Steelers receivers on the team struggled due to inconsistent quarterback play.

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Steelers rookie WR Diontae Johnson named to All-Pro team

Diontae Johnson has been named an All-Pro.

The rookie season for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been historic. As a pass-catcher, Johnson had one of the best rookie seasons in franchise history. But on Friday he was recognized as an All-Pro not for his receiving skills but as one of the best punt returners in the NFL.

Johnson only had a limited sample size to draw from but he impressed voters. Johnson only took over the punt-return duties in November when wide receiver Ryan Switzer went on IR. He finished the season with 20 punt returns and had a 12.4-yard per return average and one touchdown.

Pittsburgh drafted Johnson in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft with the pick they received from the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Antonio Brown.

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Steelers WR Diontae Johnson admits to hitting the rookie wall

Most rookies run out of gas late in their rookie seasons.

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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Steelers WR Diontae Johnson named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Diontae Johnson had a huge game last week.

Last week was the breakout performance for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The guy who was drafted to replace Antonio Brown did a pretty good impression of him with his game against the Arizona Cardinals. Johnson’s big game earned him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 14.

Johnson returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown against the Cardinals. It was the first time the Steelers got a punt return for a score since Brown did it back in 2015. Johnson also pitched in 60 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.

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Steelers vs Week 14 Gut Reactions

My observations and reactions to the Pittsburgh Steelers week 14 win against the Arizona Cardinals.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers took care of business against a competitive Arizona Cardinals team in week 14. The defense continued to roll holding their fifth straight opponent to 21 or fewer points. Devlin Hodges turned in an efficient performance and became the first rookie undrafted free-agent quarterback to win his first three starts. The Steelers have won seven of their last eight games and control their playoff destiny. Here are my gut reactions:

Beating the Odds

It was good to see the Steelers actually get to play with a lead. The offensive game plan was still conservative, Hodges finished with 16 completions and a touchdown on 19 attempts, but that was good enough for a win. Just as important as Hodges 152 passing yards was the fact that he didn’t turn the ball over.

Hodges’ contributions as a rusher shouldn’t be overlooked either. He scrambled five times for 34 yards and ironically outrushed counterpart Kyler Murray. Hodges an undrafted free agent beat the first overall draft pick at his own game, but his solid performance was overshadowed by Dionte Johnson’s breakout day.

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