For the last four weeks of the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled in weighty moments in the passing game to get guys open quickly, creating easier throws on third and fourth downs.
The good news is those struggles should be fixed starting in Week Seven with the return of standout wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in Week One in the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at the end of a 26-yard catch-and-run, Johnson’s absence has been felt in major ways by the Steelers’ offense.
Though second-year receiver George Pickens has taken on a starring role and has excelled at it over the last month, the Steelers have desperately missed having a receiver who can create separation with the best of them and serve as that security blanket for second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett in big spots.
They’ll be getting that guy back, presumably in Week Seven, on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, which has head coach Mike Tomlin rather excited.
“He’s an expert route runner. Vertical, non-vertical. He can create separation at break points,” Tomlin said of Johnson during his weekly press conference. “That is his distinguishing trait, but that is no secret.”
It is no secret that Johnson is an elite-level route runner. That’s been his calling card since his rookie season, and largely why the Steelers targeted him with their third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, which was acquired from the then-Oakland Raiders in the trade for Antonio Brown.
That route-running ability has led to some rather impressive production for Johnson.
Entering the 2023 season, Johnson was in elite company from a target standpoint dating back to 2019. Johnson’s 552 targets in the last four years entering the season made him one of just eight players in the NFL with 500-plus targets in that time span. He had six receptions in Week One through two-and-a-half quarters before getting hurt.
The route running from Johnson creates separation, which leads to quarterbacks targeting him frequently. That won’t change after his return, and that’ll be a huge boost to an offense that has really struggled in the passing game with everything feeling rather difficult throwing the football.
Tomlin said having that type of route runner in Johnson back in the lineup will “very much” help Pickett get going earlier in games, which should help the offense in general.
As Reception Perception’s Matt Harmon pointed out this summer, there is no route that Johnson can’t run. He’s the only one on the Steelers’ roster who can say that currently, so having that presence back at the X receiver position is a positive development moving forward.
