Not many players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster have faced more scrutiny over the past few years than has wide receiver Diontae Johnson, now going into year five. He is coming off a season in which he set the very dubious NFL record of having caught the most passes without scoring a touchdown, this just one year removed from a Pro Bowl.
While his reputation may have taken a temporary hit, new Steelers teammate Patrick Peterson isn’t concerned about Johnson’s ability to perform—and perhaps particularly about his mentality. It’s something he discussed on his All Things Covered podcast with Bryant McFadden, highlighting some of the candid football conversations they’ve had.
“You don’t see most receivers pulling aside DBs and be like, ‘Man, what [could I] have done to do this better? What did I give you to make this so easily assessable to you? What did I show you?’”, he said. “That moment is what made me know and understand not only that he gets it, but he wants to be great. He wants to be remembered”.
A third-round pick out of Toledo in 2019, Johnson has had a bit of an up-and-down career, one in which the downs have tended to get exaggerated in the media more than the ups. He has 340 career receptions through four seasons for 3,646 yards and 20 touchdowns. Fifteen of those scores came during the 2020-21 seasons, but he laid a goose egg in 2022 during a major offensive transition year.
While he still got his share of targets at 147 and caught 86 passes for 882 yards—really not so far off from what he did in 2020—the lack of production in the end zone obviously sticks out. While he has cleaned up his drops considerably, they still show up at some inopportune times, however, and he’s had some close calls in which would-be fumbles were ruled incompletions and things of that sort.
Not to mention his propensity to run backward after making catches in an often vain attempt to gain more yards. Sure, he has his faults, but he’s shown before that he can bounce back, and he seems better prepared this year to do so. Perhaps even with the help of guys like Peterson, who are giving with their expertise.
“Just to have those conversations with Diontae, it just showed me that he doesn’t just want to be a guy”, Peterson said. “He wants to be remembered. He wants to be a difference-maker, which he is. Now he just has to get the opportunity to continue to show that”.
Johnson put together his strongest professional season in Ben Roethlisberger’s final year. In 2021, he caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and caught eight touchdowns, being named to his first Pro Bowl as a result. He became just the fourth player in team history with a 100-catch season.
