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 9 home game against the Indianapolis Colts. In that game, Johnson had just two targets of which he caught one of them for 3 yards. His average targeted distance against the Colts was just 4 yards past the line of scrimmage and his average completion distance on his lone receptions was 1 yard past the line of scrimmage. 2 yards were gained by Johnson after the catch against the Colts.
Target 1 – 2nd & 10 – 1Q – (5:54) (Shotgun) 2-M.Rudolph pass short left to 18-D.Johnson to IND 27 for 3 yards (92-M.Hunt).
Johnson’s first target against the Colts came later in the first quarter and on a second-and-10 play. On this play, Johnson, who is lined up out wide on the left side, runs a quick in-breaking underneath route against zone coverage and quarterback Mason Rudolph quickly delivers the pass to him. Johnson, however, is quickly surrounded by four Colts defensive players and is thus limited to just 2 additional yards after the catch, which was made just a yard past the line of scrimmage.
Target 2 – 1st & 10 – 3Q – (:58) (Shotgun) 2-M.Rudolph pass incomplete short left to 18-D.Johnson [93-J.Sheard].
Johnson’s second and final target against the Colts came late in the third quarter and inside the Colts red zone. On this play, Johnson ran a short sit-down/angle route and wasn’t immediately open. Rudolph held the football and as Johnson broke back out from the middle of the field the quarterback was hit while attempting to pass. The football harmlessly his the ground well short of Johnson for an incompletion.
Week 9 Diontae Johnson Target Recap
| QRT | TIME | DWN | DIST | LOS | RES | YDS | DIR | AREA | DIST | YAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:54 | 2 | 10 | IND 30 | C | 3 | SL | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 0:58 | 1 | 10 | IND 17 | I | N/A | SL | 2 | 7 | N/A |
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 1 – Patriots
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 2 – Seahawks
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 3 – 49ers
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 4 – Bengals
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 5 – Ravens
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 6 – Chargers
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 8 – Dolphins
