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WR Diontae Johnson, CAR (1 Viewer)

Steelers selected Toledo WR Diontae Johnson with the No. 66 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Johnson (5’11/183) turned pro as a redshirt junior after starting at wideout for two years at Toledo, leaving school with a career 137/2,276/24 (16.6 YPR) receiving line. A better special teams than wide receiver prospect, Johnson also scored four times in the return game, twice on kickoffs and twice on punts. His 19.9 yards per punt return average over the past two seasons led the nation. Unfortunately, Johnson underwhelmed in the forty (4.53) and three-cone drill (7.09) at the Combine and is a "trust the tape" prospect with below-par measurables across the board.

Apr 26, 2019, 9:44 PM ET
 
Pro Football Focus's Mike Renner lists Toledo WR Diontae Johnson as a potential sleeper in the 2019 NFL Draft class.

"There might not be a more electric player with the ball in his hands than Johnson in this class," writes Renner. Thompson's concerns mostly come from his size, and the fact that his athletic testing (4.53 second 40-yard dash) was only average. "This past season, he was hampered by a downgrade at quarterback from Logan Woodside and a newfound drop habit (eight drops on 57 catchable passes), but the playmaking ability remained," writes Renner. "Johnson broke 10 tackles on his 49 catches in 2018." Assuming he's a Day 3 selection -- and he almost assuredly is - the potential added value is palpable.

SOURCE: ESPN

Apr 19, 2019, 4:55 PM ET
 
Traded up to acquire him at 2.07. Excited about his prospects.

He reminds me of Jarvis Landry in that he does the little things at receiver and doesn't rely of pure athleticism.

Plus with Antonio Brown out of town there are plenty of targets to divide between Moncrief, Washington, and Johnson.

My plan is to acquire Washington as well and hope one of those two carves out the WR2 role in Pittsburgh. With Smith-Schuster seeing double coverage, should open up room for somebody else to step up.

 
Mixed feelings about him. He is pretty much baseline athletically. His final season was sub optimal, his sophomore season was great. Considering it was the MAC, that enhances my concerns. People act like the Steelers don’t miss at WR, if that was true Sammie Coates and Markus Wheaton would still be relevant on dynasty rosters. Yes, they have a nice hit rate but even if this means Washington was a miss people shouldn’t just hang their hat on that. There are red flags here. My money is still on Washington. He needs to get himself straight but he averages 17 yards per target last year. It’s sort of a crowded field outside of JuJu.

 
Mixed feelings about him. He is pretty much baseline athletically. His final season was sub optimal, his sophomore season was great. Considering it was the MAC, that enhances my concerns. People act like the Steelers don’t miss at WR, if that was true Sammie Coates and Markus Wheaton would still be relevant on dynasty rosters. Yes, they have a nice hit rate but even if this means Washington was a miss people shouldn’t just hang their hat on that. There are red flags here. My money is still on Washington. He needs to get himself straight but he averages 17 yards per target last year. It’s sort of a crowded field outside of JuJu.
The story is the QB situation got worse his last year.

 
Are people excited by him or the fact it was the Steelers, who have been a WR factory, are the team who drafted him?

 
Are people excited by him or the fact it was the Steelers, who have been a WR factory, are the team who drafted him?
This is the feeling I generally get. It’s a bit more than that though. PFF was very fond of him for his route running proficiency. I did not have him ranked very highly predraft. If you ignore last year it’s easier to be more keen on him.

 
This is the feeling I generally get. It’s a bit more than that though. PFF was very fond of him for his route running proficiency. I did not have him ranked very highly predraft. If you ignore last year it’s easier to be more keen on him.
It’s also that he was the 10th wr off the board to a good offensive team with what looks to be a winnable competition for the 2nd wr spot. Seems reasonable for the 10th wr taken who landed on a good offense with a decent shot at an early role to go in the 22-28 range. Even without accounting for the Steelers track record developing wrs. I got him at 23, very happy with that.

 
I'm high on him long term based on his skill set, but having the skill set doesn't ensure he'll be a great NFL wide receiver. Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates had the skills/athleticism to be great NFL wide receivers, and they flashed sometimes, but when it came down to it they weren't reliable. Martavis Bryant has the skills and athleticism to be one of the best WRs in the NFL, but just hasn't put it all together on the field (not including his off the field issues). I think Diontae Johnson has the ability to be great, but it remains to be seen if he will put it all together.  

I think Johnson will be a solid NFL wide receiver, but his ceiling is a WR2 for me, and since I traded away all my picks lower than pick 1.06, I don't think I'll have him on my team, sadly. 

 
Bump. Have done zero prep this year and grabbed this guy in mid-second based on DFF rankings and the combination of the abbreviations PIT and WR. Sorry I don't have much to add, this is just a  :blackdot: post for me.

 
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler lists rookie WR Diontae Johnson as one of the Steelers' surprise offseason standouts.

Fowler called RB Trey Edmunds the biggest surprise for the Steelers this offseason, but he points out Johnson has been catching everything thrown his way. Johnson is competing with James Washington, Donte Moncrief, and others for outside snaps. The 2019 third-round pick averaged 8.5 yards per target as a junior at Toledo last year.

SOURCE: ESPN.com

Jun 14, 2019, 9:56 AM ET

 
Continues to be a lot of very positive chatter about this young man. Joe Haden was interviewed and raved about him, said he was the most impressive player in camp. 

 
Continues to be a lot of very positive chatter about this young man. Joe Haden was interviewed and raved about him, said he was the most impressive player in camp. 
All 3 QBs have said positive things about him as well. Ben said he purposefully through him bad passes and Johnson caught them all and Rudolph said he caught everything he threw his way as well. Seems like an abundance of camp hype. More than the usual. Tomlin acknowledged his performance as well in his usual way by saying something along the lines of there’s lots of guys who look good in June let’s see him at camp.

 
I watched the Steelers WR coach Drake just gush on him and that sold me. Some VERY high praise, watch this video (go to 1:23 mark) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndvvT0898Zs
Wow that’s awesome video! Very powerful information from a highly respectable organization.

Everyone should watch that interview. To hear a coach/scout say forty times mean nothing is awesome.....”turn on the film.”

I will watch that again. I have JuJu already but he’s now a target of mine.

Tex

 
I got lucky, he wasn't on my radar in last month's rookie draft. Once he started getting buzz and I went to search him, he was already rostered. Then, the owner dropped him and I pounced. He's now tracking at 27 on MFL since June in PPR leagues.

 
STEELERSRoethlisberger impressed by rookie Johnson after test run: ‘He was barely breathing’

 I think any young guy that comes in needs to always work conditioning," Roethlisberger was telling media today outside the locker room in Latrobe, Pa., for Day 1 of Steelers training camp. "No rookie ever comes in and is in great condition," 

But don't tell that to rookie receiver Diontae Johnson. According to Roethlisberger, the Steelers' third-round pick this season out of Toledo has already made some waves in camp.

"I saw him run his conditioning test yesterday, and I don’t even think he opened [his mouth], like, he was barely breathing," Roethlisberger said. "So you could tell, and I heard that he was here a lot in the offseason working, so you can tell that he really took that to heart, that he needed to get in shape. I’ve seen that so far, even though it’s early."

And hey, not to keep banging this drum, but everyone — scouts, coaches, media — compared Johnson to Antonio Brown after digging through the film. He's small — 5-foot-11, 181 pounds. He runs precise routes. He comes from a small school. It's all there, and now you can add an intense dedication to conditioning to the list.

“I look at his [Brown's] releases, how he catches the ball, how he comes out of his breaks, those type of things and try to apply it to my game,” Johnson was telling me at the Rooney Complex after Day 1 of the Steelers OTAs. “I feel like my releases are just as similar as his, and my route-running also, so those are the couple things I look at.”

It's something that gives Roethlisberger hope and excitement — but there's one giant hurdle left for Johnson to clear.

"The next thing I want to see is how he plays and how he reacts with pads on," Roethlisberger said. "Because a lot of us look good with shorts and t-shirts, but once the pads come on and you have the capability of getting hit and stuff, we’ll see what happens. But I’m excited for it.”

 
Dont expect much this year, he's not going Juju on anyone his rookie season.  Assuming Washington works out, DJ is a WR3 at best.  Steelers will extend Juju next year when they are totally out of the woods on the AB money.   Maybe Washington sucks, DJ might move to WR2 next year.   Moncrief shouldnt hinder his progression.

 
NFL.com's Amber Theoharis reports some Steelers' staff members have rookie WR Diontae Johnson ahead of James Washington on the depth chart.

Both receivers are behind Donte Moncrief, but it's a camp battle to watch given the Steelers' 226 available targets from last season. Johnson (5'11/183) averaged 16.6 yards per reception and showed special teams value with four return touchdowns at Toledo. There is a path to volume if Johnson can win the No. 3 job, making him a viable late-round target in deep fantasy leagues.

RELATED: 

James Washington

SOURCE: NFL.com

Aug 8, 2019, 6:29 PM ET

 
The Athletic's Mark Kaboly believes rookie WR Diontae Johnson "is not going to play early in the season."

Kaboly has JuJu Smith-Schuster, Donte Moncrief, James Washington, and Ryan Switzer ahead of Johnson on his projected depth chart. The reporter even leaves open the possibility that Johnson is a healthy scratch early on. Johnson, however, should earn more reps as the season progresses, but it's clearly Moncrief's No. 2 job to lose. The Steelers' 226 available targets from last year are enough to chase in fantasy drafts, though Moncrief and Washington are the preferred bets.

SOURCE: The Athletic

Aug 18, 2019, 7:15 PM ET

 
Steelers third-round WR Diontae Johnson has been held out of practice this week with an undisclosed injury.

Johnson hasn't seen the field since Saturday, when he went for 46 yards on three catches in Pittsburgh's preseason win over Kansas City. The Steelers have been mum on Johnson's status, an ominous sign with the regular season just over two weeks away. "He’s still got a lot to learn. He’s got to get through the growing pains of pain and injury," said a frustrated Randy Fichter. "I’m hopeful he can help us in some type of role." Johnson, who also missed a chunk of OTAs with leg issues, will be no better than fourth on the team's wide receiver depth chart upon his return.

SOURCE: DK Pittsburgh Sports

Aug 23, 2019, 2:27 PM ET

 
Man I wish there was an easy way for you to not have to read them since they bother you so much. You know? 
Not bothersome, but you have become this one trick pony type poster.  Unfortunate.

eta - don't think I've had a poster on ignore in 15 years.

 
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Not bothersome, but you have become this one trick pony type poster.  Unfortunate.

eta - don't think I've had a poster on ignore in 15 years.
Well we don't need this back and forth clogging up these threads. I've ignored maybe 5-6 guys on here and my summer has been amazing. You should try it. 

 
Dude will never make it through 16 games. Book it. Imagine thinking this guy is going to be better with than the only guy on par with Randy Moss statistically before age 23. Absolutely absurd.

 

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