The Pittsburgh Steelers received a boost on offense last week when WR Diontae Johnson returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous four games while recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in Week One against the 49ers. He caught five passes on six targets for 79 yards, providing a reliable presence opposite WR George Pickens to open up the passing game in a win against the Los Angeles Rams.
Johnson managed to make a similar impact in yesterday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, catching eight passes on a whopping 14 targets for 85 yards in what proved to be a sloppy game both in terms of the weather as well as the Steelers’ offense as a whole.
The Film
When going back through the tape, you see a couple of missed opportunities right out the gate for Johnson. QB Kenny Pickett went to Johnson on two of the first three plays from scrimmage, finding him running down the middle of the field wide open on the first play of the game. The pass is a little outside the reach of Johnson, who tries to bring it in, but the ball bounces off his fingertips and falls incomplete. Just two plays later, Pickett goes to Johnson again along the right sideline on third down. Rolling to his right, he delivers a strike right on the facemask of Johnson. However, Johnson is unable to make the catch, watching the ball bounce off his helmet as CB Darious Williams and LB Devin Lloyd fly in to knock the ball away with Lloyd almost picking it off.
Johnson was able to bounce back quickly and take over the game as Pittsburgh’s go-to target. He displayed why he’s considered one of the best route runners in football with his release packages in this contest, including this play on first down. Johnson quickly gives a jab step to his left to make the corner at the bottom of your screen freeze for a second, getting a clean release inside on the slant route. Pickett puts the ball on the money for Johnson as he works across the field, attempting to evade defenders before going to the ground after a pickup of eight yards.
On this play with Pittsburgh backed up against its own goal line, Johnson demonstrates great use of leverage and using his body to get into the defender before coming back to the ball to uncover from tight coverage. Johnson runs a curl route at the top of your screen on second and long, getting into the cornerback to force him to get tight on Johnson, limiting his ability to quickly change direction when Johnson breaks out of his route. Johnson uncovers, matches the catch, and gets past the first-down marker to move the chains.
On the same drive, Pickett and Johnson connect on three plays in a four-play span, Johnson getting back to that target hog he has been during his tenure with the Steelers. Watch as Johnson makes catches along the sideline and in the flat in this three-play sequence. He demonstrates crisp route running, good hands, and spatial awareness to make two grabs before falling out of bounds. The last catch shows a beautiful display of body control, Johnson snagging the pass with outstretched hands while tapping his feet down before having momentum take him out of bounds to complete the process of the catch.
Still, the biggest miss of the game came at the end of the drive. Pickett and Johnson were unable to connect on this pass attempt in the end zone on third down, forcing Pittsburgh to settle for a Chris Boswell field goal. Johnson comes in motion and sets up behind TE Connor Heyward with Heyward setting a pick to get Johnson open in the end zone. Pickett is late in taking his eyes from the right side of the field over to Johnson and throws the ball behind him. Johnson tries to reach back for the ball but slips in the wet field conditions, resulting in an incompletion. Given the field conditions as well as the play design, it looks like Pickett should have put the ball on Johnson rather than relying on Johnson running a whip concept back to the open space. Hence why Johnson was frustrated afterwards that the two didn’t connect.
Still, Johnson did a great job of making the difficult catches in the rainy weather on Sunday, putting those early drops concerns to bed as he got more into the game. Take a look at this play where Johnson uncovers at the top of your screen along the sideline. He works back to the ball as Pickett scrambles from the pocket, laying out for a desperation heave from Pickett along the boundary to make the catch and move the sticks.
We see another big play from Johnson when QB Mitch Trubisky came into the game after Pickett left with a rib injury. Johnson runs an out-breaking route to the sideline on second down, with Williams bearing down on him as Trubisky throws the pass. Johnson manages to make the grab through contact, catching the ball with outstretched hands as Williams comes in to break up the pass. Holding onto the ball as he hits the ground, he completes the process of the catch to move the chains again for Pittsburgh.
This last play from Johnson doesn’t display savvy route running or impressive dexterity, but rather his commitment to getting open and giving his quarterback a target to throw the ball when under pressure. The Steelers are in a fire-drill scenario with Trubisky getting flushed from the pocket, running backward in attempt to buy more time as the pass rush closes in. Johnson initially uncovers at the bottom of your screen, then works back toward the middle of the field to try and complete the scramble drill. Trubisky manages to find Johnson, who makes the catch to move the sticks on third down and keep the offense on the field.
Conclusion
Diontae Johnson had his missed opportunities Sunday, most notably two early drops and a missed connection with Pickett in the end zone for a potential touchdown. However, he managed to put together a rather impressive performance, showcasing the skill set of a nuanced technician who can uncover with relative ease as a route runner while also making the tough catches in coverage and along the sideline.
Johnson is the perfect complement to WR George Pickens, who was quiet in this matchup outside of his touchdown catch. Jacksonville was dedicating more safety help to Pickens’ side, not allowing him to single-handedly beat them like he did to previous opponents this season. This gave Johnson plenty of opportunities to see single coverage and get a heavy target share, keeping Pittsburgh’s passing game afloat with Pickens not making much of an impact.
The status of Kenny Pickett will be important for Pittsburgh’s offense going forward, but it’s safe to say that Johnson is back and is fully healthy after two strong showings. He and Pickens can look to trade off weeks where one may be more productive than the other with last week being a Pickens week and this week being Johnson’s week. The Tennessee Titans have a stout run defense, much like the Jaguars, but rank middle of the pack in the league against the pass. No matter who the quarterback is for Pittsburgh on Thursday night, Johnson and Pickens will have to be heavily involved if the Steelers want to quickly get over this loss and get back in the win column in an important AFC matchup.
