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 17 road game against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game, Johnson had seven targets of which he caught four of them for 54 yards. His average targeted distance against the Ravens was 10.4 yards past the line of scrimmage and his average completion distance on his five receptions was 5.8 yards past the line of scrimmage. 31 yards were gained by Johnson after the catch against the Ravens.
Target 1 – 2nd & 9 – 1Q – (7:20) (Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass incomplete short right to 18-D.Johnson.
Johnson’s first target against the Ravens came midway through the first quarter and on a second-and-9 play. On this play, Johnson ran a shorter square-in route from the far right side against man-coverage and a blitz. Quarterback Devlin Hodges got the ball out quick, but the throw was forced, off target and into very tight coverage. This pass was easily incomplete and really never had a chance at being caught by Johnson.
Target 2 – 3rd & 2 – 1Q – (1:27) (Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass short middle to 18-D.Johnson to PIT 44 for 11 yards (44-M.Humphrey). Penalty on BAL-44-M.Humphrey, Defensive Offside, declined.
Johnson’s second target against the Ravens came on a third-and-2 play late in the first quarter. On this play, Johnson ran a quick slant from the right slot position and against man-coverage. At the snap, Johnson got off the line uncontested and did a great job of getting underneath separation from the defending cornerback with ease. Hodges hit the wide open Johnson and the wide receiver easily gained another 8 yards after the catch for a first down.
Target 3 – 3rd & 7 – 1Q – (:21) (Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass deep left to 18-D.Johnson ran ob at BAL 32 for 21 yards.
Johnson’s third target against the Ravens came on a third-and-7 play very late in the first quarter. On this play, Johnson ran a deep over route as part of a Yankee-like combination from a tight right split to the left. While Johnson has initial trash to work through not long after the snap, he maneuvers around it against man-coverage and eventually runs away from the defending cornerback once he crossed the middle of the field. Johnson wound up having to wait for the deep Hodges’ pass and the target actually was over and behind the Ravens cornerback. Johnson managed to bring in the deep pass and get two feet down before going out of bounds on the far left side of the field.
Target 4 – 3rd & 21 – 2Q – (6:08) (Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass short middle to 18-D.Johnson to PIT 47 for 14 yards (58-L.Fort).
Johnson’s fourth target against the Ravens came on a third-and-forever pay with just a little more than six minutes left in the first half. On this play, Johnson ran a short and uncontested underneath crosser from left to right as the defense allowed for that based on down and distance. Hodges easily connected with Johnson right after the wide receiver crossed the middle field. While Johnson was ultimately able to force two missed tackles after the catch on his way to gaining 14 yards, a first down was still not achieved.
Target 5 – 3rd & 15 – 3Q – (3:27) (Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass short middle to 18-D.Johnson to PIT 22 for 8 yards (41-A.Levine Sr.).
Johnson’s fifth target against the Ravens also happened on a third-and-long play and thus time later in the third quarter. Once again, Johnson was left alone on an underneath crossing route with this time him working left to right. Hodges once again hit the crossing Johnson in stride but the wide receiver only managed 8 total yards before being tackled. Like his fourth target, Johnson’s reception failed to result in a first down.
Target 6 – 2nd & 4 – 4Q – (11:35) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass incomplete deep left to 18-D.Johnson.
Johnson’s sixth target in this contest was a deep one and it probably should’ve resulted in a touchdown. On this second-and-4 play, Johnson got an outside release and was able to stack the Ravens cornerback outside the numbers. Hodges attempted the deep pass and maybe because of the rain and weather, Johnson misjudged it and seemingly let up on his route to attempt to leap for the football. The pass was slightly under-thrown so maybe that affected Johnson as well. What probably should have been a deep connection with just one safety in the middle field, wound up being an uncontested incompletion.
Target 7 – 3rd & 10 – 4Q – (4:46) (Shotgun) 6-D.Hodges pass incomplete short right to 18-D.Johnson.
Johnson’s seventh and final target against the Ravens came later in the fourtth quarter and on a third-and-10 play. On this play, Johnson ran a comeback from a tight split on the right side of the formation against a zone coverage. While Johnson was open and had separation on the comeback route, Hodges threw high and outside and it’s lucky the pass was not intercepted by the cornerback on that side.
Week 17 Diontae Johnson Target Recap
| QRT | TIME | DWN | DIST | LOS | RES | YDS | DIR | AREA | DIST | YAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:20 | 2 | 9 | PIT 26 | I | N/A | SR | 4 | 6 | N/A |
| 1 | 1:27 | 3 | 2 | PIT 33 | C | 11 | SM | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 1 | 0:21 | 3 | 7 | PIT 47 | C | 21 | DL | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| 2 | 6:08 | 3 | 21 | PIT 33 | C | 14 | SM | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | 3:27 | 3 | 15 | PIT 14 | C | 8 | SM | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | 11:35 | 2 | 4 | MID 50 | I | N/A | DL | 1 | 35 | N/A |
| 4 | 4:46 | 3 | 10 | PIT 19 | I | N/A | SR | 5 | 9 | 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
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 9 – Colts
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 10 – Rams
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 11 – Browns
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 12 – Bengals
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 13 – Browns
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 14 – Cardinals
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 15 – Bills
Diontae Johnson 2019 Target Contextualization – Week 16 – Jets
