The 2023 season is a big year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a year that could go a long way toward determining the potential for this offense for years to come, predicated upon the continued development of second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett.
But with that has to come the relationships he has with his receivers, and odds are he isn’t going to be throwing the ball to anybody more often than to wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who has led the team in receiving yards the past three years, and in receptions for three of the past four.
Coming off a slightly “down” season in which he was held to 86 catches for 882 yards, he understands what the public perception is about him right now, and I’m sure he’s aware of how that relates to the projected breakout for George Pickens. But that’s not where his focus is.
The fifth-year receiver has the same goals you might imagine any wide receiver would have, ranging from reception numbers to individual awards to Super Bowl titles. Those are the items he listed speaking to Bo Marchionte of college2pro.com on that subject.
“I don’t want to come off cocky or nothing like that. I’m humble. I just want to work and play football. Make plays”, he said. “When I say that stuff, I say it in the humblest way. I know how it is because people can take it the wrong way. It’s a blessing. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity and I just want to continue that”.
A third-round draft pick in 2019 out of Toledo, Johnson has developed into one of the elite route runners in today’s game. Between the 2020-21 seasons, he caught 195 passes for 2,084 yards with 15 touchdowns. But his failure to score a touchdown last year stuck out like a sore thumb—even if he did score a pair of two-point conversions.
In fact, he set an NFL record for the most receptions in a single season without scoring a touchdown. But there is absolutely no reason to think he might suffer the same fate yet again. He and Pickett will have had time this offseason to work on their timing and their connection, and things should be back on track.
But that’s all a means to an end. What Johnson is after, ultimately, is success, whatever that looks like. Catching passes, racking up yards, scoring touchdowns, these are the things you do to help your team win games.
For the most part throughout his career, Johnson has been a soft-spoken player. Even when he does speak, it’s not often saying very much. If he makes headlines, it feels very much unintentional—with his words, anyway. He would rather let his play do the talking. Even if talking is unavoidable in this social media world.
