Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: WR Diontae Johnson
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran wide receiver seemed rather emphatic about his intentions to return from the Reserve/Injured List. Asked if he would be ready to play on the other side of the team’s bye week, he said, “Hell yeah”.
WR Diontae Johnson has not been much of a fan favorite in recent years. He has some traits in his game that can be frustrating, but his talent cannot be denied. QB Kenny Pickett talked about him yesterday and said that you can see the offense has missed him.
He’s not wrong. While there has been some progress in the offense, the Steelers have still been missing that consistently open target that Johnson presents. A guy like Allen Robinson II does get open a lot, finding soft zones in coverages, but the way he’s been used and targeted, he presents zero run-after-the-catch threat.
Johnson caught three passes for 48 yards in the season opener. He suffered a hamstring injury early in the second half while picking up a 26-yard gain. That was significant enough to land him on the Reserve/Injured List, resulting in him missing roughly 90 percent of the Steelers season so far.
Speaking yesterday for the first time since his injury, and now eligible to be activated from reserve after missing four games, Johnson was emphatic about his impending return. Asked if he would be back for the Steelers’ next game, he said, “Hell yeah”.
Without him for most of the season, Pittsburgh has only thrown for 939 net passing yards, ranking 27th in the league, despite having the 19th-most pass attempts. They rank tied for 18th in passing touchdowns with five on the season.
Of course, they only had 12 all of last year, and none went to Johnson, setting a dubious record for the most receptions in a season without scoring a touchdown (he did have two successful two-point conversion receptions).
He’s ready to get back. The offense is ready to have him back. The hope is that his return can help provide the team with a much-needed spark. He can provide more easy completions while also taking more attention away from George Pickens, who is looking to continue to grow and expand his repertoire in his second season. And that should open things up for everybody else as well.
