Earlier during the preseason, I wrote a piece comparing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backfield situation to the Dallas Cowboys from last year, seeing more of an even split of work occurring between RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, serving similar roles to RBs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard for Dallas last year. When looking at the wide receiver position specifically in Pittsburgh, another former duo sticks out in my mind that resembles the tandem of Diontae Johnson and George Pickens in the Black and Gold.
Pittsburgh got Johnson back this past week against the Los Angeles Rams and made an immediate impact, catching five passes on six target for 79 yards. He did a great job making much-needed grabs over the middle while creating after the catch, adding a complement to Pickens in the passing game that Pittsburgh had been missing with Johnson on IR the previous four games due to injury. Johnson was also able to alleviate some of the attention on Pickens against Los Angeles, the latter catching five passes on eight targets for 107 yards, continuing his breakout campaign. The two complemented each other well, similar to another duo that shared the field together for five years together with the Minnesota Vikings.
The duo I’m referring to is WRs Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, having played together with the Vikings from 2015-2019. During their time together, Thielen and Diggs made up one of the best wide receiver duos in football as the two helped elevate the Vikings into a potent offensive attack. Thielen signed as a UDFA with the Vikings in 2013 with Diggs getting drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round two years later. The two would develop alongside each other, providing the Vikings with a 1-2 punch that emulates the Johnson and Pickens duo in several ways.
First, the difference in age is quite similar between the two duos as Thielen is currently 33 with Diggs being 29 while Johnson is 27 with Pickens being 22. You also look at their play styles, you would argue that Diggs and Pickens are the more athletic receivers of the two duos, possessing a higher upside than their counterparts. We’ve seen that ascension from Diggs, and it’s quite possible that Pickens can reach that level as well given how he’s currently playing this season.
Diggs has become more of a craftsman at wideout over the years, developing into a nuanced route runner. However, when he was in Minnesota with Thielen, Diggs was more of the downfield, big-play threat in the passing game while Thielen was the high-volume target who served as more of the possession down, chain mover of the passing game. That is a similar dynamic that Pickens and Johnson share. Pickens is the flashy, big-play threat for Pittsburgh while Johnson has notoriously been fed heavy targets over the years in Pittsburgh’s offense.
It’s been a hot minute since Diggs and Thielen shared the field together in Minnesota after the Vikings traded Diggs to the Buffalo Bills in 2020 and Thielen signed to play with the Carolina Panthers this offseason. Still, the two complemented each other really well at about the same age timeline that Johnson and Pickens are at now with Pickens coming into his own in his second season and Johnson in his fifth season with the Steelers.
Johnson has one year left on his deal after this season, putting the Steelers in an interesting spot regarding if they should look to retain him given that Pickens will be up for a new deal at the end of the 2025 season. The two complement each other well with their differing skill sets as Johnson takes away attention from Pickens while Pickens alleviates Johnson from having to be Pittsburgh’s alpha wide receiver. Still, the money will be a big factor regarding if we see more than three seasons of Johnson and Pickens playing together. Johnson will look to cash in on a bigger deal than he got in a two-year extension from Pittsburgh last offseason while Pickens will likely command a pretty penny himself once his contract is up should he continue to progress into the star he is capable of becoming.
