WR Diontae Johnson was targeted 10 or more times in eight games last season. Half of them include the four games started by QB Mitch Trubisky—the first three of the season and then the week 15 win over the Carolina Panthers, which Kenny Pickett missed due to a concussion.
That’s not entirely coincidental. The reality is that Pickett and Johnson didn’t get to work together very much over the course of that offseason, for a variety of reasons, but particularly because Pickett was not with the starters. He knew they could build that rapport this offseason, however, even if he hoped for a little more work during the downtime.
That had an impact on their chemistry on the field, which Johnson told Randy Baumann on the WDVE Morning Show recently is quite a bit better this offseason. “I feel like our relationship is getting closer. Just starting by me and him, we have lunch every day, just talking about anything”, he said.
“On the field at practice, I can see he’s starting to believe in me and trust me and come my way more”, he added. “Not saying that he hasn’t in the past, but you can just see our chemistry starting to show. He’s making the right decisions. He knows what he’s doing. He’s seeing it faster, and that’s not just with me but anybody out there, all these guys that he plays with out there. Things are going smooth”.
With Pickett, Johnson recorded only 48 receptions on 92 targets for 502 yards and, of course, zero touchdowns since he didn’t have one last year. That accounts for 23.7 percent of Pickett’s pass attempts in 2023. The target share did improve over the year, though not always the results—not for a lack of effort.
With Trubisky, he caught 37 passes on 55 targets for 366 yards, a dramatically higher success rate at 67.6 percent versus 52.2. Trubisky targeted him on 30.6 percent of his pass attempts over the course of the season, though it should also be noted that it was mostly at the beginning of the year with WR George Pickens still settling in. At the same time, that was also with Chase Claypool still on the roster.
I don’t know if it’s the biggest factor in the anticipated offensive improvement in 2023, but the growing rapport between Pickett and Johnson has to be up there on the list. Even though he’s become a favorite whipping boy for many fans, he is easily one of their greatest weapons if you can get the most out of him.
The former third-round draft pick went to the Pro Bowl just the year before after becoming the fourth player in franchise history to record 100-plus receptions in a season. He finished that year with a stat line of 107-1,161-8—nothing to sneeze at.
Even though he didn’t find the end zone (via a touchdown; he had a pair of two-point conversions) in 2022, Johnson still managed 86 receptions for 882 yards, so it’s not as though he wasn’t contributing in significant ways.
He is a player with his faults, and I’m sure they’re going to be listed below in the comments, some of them even imaginary, but the talent is obvious, and it should be on vivid display this upcoming season now with himself and Pickett in harmony with one another.
