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Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 11 – Browns

By Dave Bryan

Posted on June 29, 2020 at 1:05 pm

The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t report for their 2020 training camp for at least a month from now so that means we still have a lot of time to fill with offseason content. For the next few weeks, I will have a series that focuses on every target that went to Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson during his 2019 rookie season. This series will include a quick breakdown and contextualization of every target that Johnson had in 2019 by game in addition to other data related to each play.

This series will move forward with a look at Johnson’s targets in the Steelers Week 11 road game against the Cleveland Browns. In that game, Johnson had four targets of which he caught two of them for 17 yards. His average targeted distance against the Browns was 11.5 yards past the line of scrimmage and his average completion distance on his two receptions was 7.5 yards past the line of scrimmage. 2 yards were gained by Johnson after the catch against the Browns.

Target 1 – 3rd & 3 – 1Q – (7:56) (Shotgun) 2-M.Rudolph pass incomplete short right to 18-D.Johnson (53-J.Schobert).

Johnson’s first target and reception against the Browns came midway through the first quarter and on a third-and-3 play. On this incompleted pass, Johnson ran a short comeback route on the right field side. A linebacker rush in the face of quarterback Mason Rudolph got very close at the time of the pass release and it resulted in the intended football falling way short of Johnson.

Target 2 – 2nd & 5 – 1Q – (2:21) (Shotgun) 2-M.Rudolph pass short left to 18-D.Johnson to PIT 43 for 4 yards (26-G.Williams).

Johnson’s second target against the Browns resulted in his first catch of the contest. On this second-and-5 play, Johnson ran a short hitch/comeback route on the left side of the formation out of a nasty split. It was a quick timing route and Rudolph had the pass out to Johnson in plenty of time for the wide receiver to make the catch. After the catch, Johnson picked up an additional yard and it set up a third-and-short situation.

Target 3 – 1st & 10 – 2Q – (1:31) (Shotgun) 2-M.Rudolph pass short left to 18-D.Johnson ran ob at CLE 28 for 13 yards (26-G.Williams).

Johnson’s third target against the Browns, which also resulted in a catch, was an easy reception on his part on a first-and-10 play. On this plasy, Johnson ran an out-breaking route just past the chains after lining up on the boundary side just outside the numbers. The off coverage by the Browns cornerback on the play allowed Johnson to force the defender to open his hips to the field not long after the snap. This allowed Johnson to easily break toward the sideline very uncontested and Rudolph’s pass easily found its mark for a first down.

Target 4 – 2nd & 24 – 2Q – (1:16) (Shotgun) 2-M.Rudolph pass incomplete deep right to 18-D.Johnson.

Johnson’s fourth and final target against the Browns really want much of a target at all. On this play, a second-and-24 late in the second quarter, Johnson ran a deep route down the right outside against a quarter coverage with the defensive back playing way off. Rudolph, who was flushed right from the pocket after not seeing anything to his left and in the middle of the field, attempted to make a deep throw in Johnson’s direction while on the move. The throw was way to the outside of Johnson , who never went toward the sideline.

Week 11 Diontae Johnson Target Recap