The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiving corp had a rough season in 2022. They had two new quarterbacks, an iffy offensive scheme and lots of complaints about the number of targets.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson (#18) sprints upfield during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA on July 28, 2022. | Photo Credit: Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO
The team's reception leader was Diontae Johnson, with a meager 82 catches, 882 yards and zero touchdowns.
Those numbers seem especially low when you consider that in 2021 he was selected to the Pro Bowl after catching a career-high 107 receptions and over 1,100 yards with eight touchdowns. The Steelers rewarded Johnson with a two-year contract extension last summer.
As mentioned, there are a number of reasons why the receivers struggled last season. That includes a new quarterback in Mitch Trubisky, then another new quarterback in rookie Kenny Pickett and not to mention the offensive play calling.
The players definitely voiced their frustrations, including Johnson. Interestingly enough, ESPN listed Johnson as a top-five receiver in the league for 2022
Steelers Insider Says Keep Johnson
The reasons why a player struggles do not always matter to fans or analysts and there has been a lot of talk about what will happen with Johnson now. Almost like it is fait accompli that the organization should be looking at trading him. Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Gerry Dulac, weighed in on the Johnson debate during his recent chat. When asked by a fan what the odds are that the Steelers will trade Johnson, Dulac answered simply.
"None."
Another fan wrote in and commented on how surprised they are that people keep calling for the Steelers to dump Johnson. Dulac agreed, Johnson may have had some drops but he is better than the other options out there. We need depth at the receiver position and do not have the money to go out and get a bigger name.
"I don't see him as the nightmare so many claim him to be. Diontae is a reasonable investment at the moment. Your thoughts," the fan asked.
"My thoughts are I agree with you. In fact, if I had more money in this inflationary period, I'd say to pay the man," Dulac concurred.
This makes sense. The Steelers need Johnson, he is the biggest name wide receiver we have on the team. While George Pickens is definitely up and coming, there is no one else that is of the same caliber as Johnson. The whole reason the team felt solid trading Chase Claypool to the Bears is that they had Johnson.
George Pickens and Diontae Johnson / Photo Credit: Ed Thompson, Steelers Now
Johnson has also shown that he is willing to put in the hard work. When he went through the drop two seasons ago, he spent every waking moment, running every kind of hand drill he could until he mastered catching tennis balls in every situation. That hard work paid off big time as his drop rate went way down.
On top of Johnson having the skills to be a WR1, he also has the money. The Steelers gave Johnson a substantial bit of money upfront with a $17.5 million signing bonus. Pittsburgh wouldn't have done that if they didn't plan to keep him and did not think that he would return.
Johnson not only provides much-needed depth and skill, but he also brings maturity to a very young group of receivers. We saw him this season while dealing with his own frustrations, stop and spend time mentoring a young Pickens.
Photo Credit: @JSKOPhoto
The Steelers also like stability and we have heard from both head coach Mike Tomlin and owner Art Rooney II, that that's what they plan to give Pickett. They have kept offensive coordinator, Matt Canada for exactly this reason and it also factors into why keeping Johnson is a no-brainer.
This young group will remain primarily intact in 2023 and it will be very interesting to see what they are able to produce.
What do you think of Johnson? Are the Steelers right to keep him? Comment below.
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