The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to paint the WR Diontae Johnson trade as anything but addition by subtraction. They received CB Donte Jackson in return, a player whom they’ve coveted for some time. It sounds as though the Carolina Panthers similarly value Johnson and what he can bring to their offense.
“The goal for the receiver room was let’s challenge the explosiveness, let’s challenge the one-on-one matchup, and Diontae is a guy I’ve been watching for a long time”, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said recently about the receiver, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The first-year head coach comes over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following one stint as offensive coordinator. He spent most of his time on the Seattle Seahawks’ coaching staff in different roles for 13 years beforehand. Now he wants to start off his tenure with an elite route-runner, which is how he views Johnson.
“Diontae can release against the best corners in the league and get open and be available for the quarterback”, he said. “He really has a dynamic style of play that I thought we were missing. I wanted to look at more ways we could add that explosiveness to our pass game. He was a big piece of it”.
Drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Johnson made the All-Pro list as a returner during his rookie season. In his final year with Ben Roethlisberger, he went to the Pro Bowl in 2021 as an alternate. That season, he caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and 8 touchdowns. He is one of four players in franchise history with 100-plus receptions in a season.
Just as with everybody else on the team, his production declined after the future Hall of Fame quarterback retired. He went an entire season with scoring a touchdown in 2022, thereby setting a very dubious record. With his 86 receptions, he caught the most passes without scoring a touchdown in a single season in NFL history.
Despite missing four games due to injury, Johnson led the team with six receiving touchdowns in 2023, however, including the postseason, in 14 games played. He was limited to only 51 receptions on 87 targets, however, for 717 yards.
The 2023 season marked a tumultuous year of highs and lows for Johson. He made a number of key plays, including a game-winning 71-yard touchdown in the season finale in the fourth quarter from Mason Rudolph that helped send the Steelers to the playoffs.
However, he also quarreled with multiple members the organization, and came under immense scrutiny for other matters. On one play, he failed to block and then did not go after a loose ball that caused the offense to lose possession.
In his Steelers career, Johnson caught 391 passes over five years for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns. He ranks ninth all-time in team history in receiving yards, fifth in receptions, and 13th in receiving touchdowns. He also ranks eighth in receiving yards per game, just slightly behind 2023 teammate George Pickens.
