The Steelers' drafting of Diontae Johnson added another player into the battle for the team's No. 2 receiver spot. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the obvious leader of the group. But with James Washington in his second year and Donte Moncrief being a new free-agent acquisition, Johnson will be in a strong position to earn playing time in training camp.
Johnson's positive traits translate to the NFL and give him a chance to have an instant impact. Let's go through them to see why the Steelers are excited about him:
Yesterday, Dale Lolley wrote about how confident the Steelers are in Johnson's "natural" receiving skills. Johnson's 4.55 time in the 40 and his 5-foot-10 height don't pop off the charts compared to other receivers in his draft class, which is why his skills are so important.
Those "natural skills" Darryl Drake referred to in Lolley's story are his ability to get open and make plays against tight coverage. Back in March, I wrote about the Steelers' need for a receiver who can win outside the numbers, and Johnson did that plenty in Toledo.
Here he is against Michael Jackson of Miami, a decent cornerback I previewed for the site who was drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys.
Watch the bottom of your screen as Johnson uses a quick stutter step to freeze Jackson just long enough for him to get a step behind the defense. That one step was all he needed for Mitchell Guadagni to throw a 31-yard pass down the sideline that Johnson easily pulled in:
Johnson had several such moments in college with an unheralded quarterback, so imagine the kind of plays he can make with Ben Roethlisberger in those situations.
Johnson doesn't try to beat cornerbacks by being faster. Instead, he sets up his routes by getting into position with precise footwork.
Watch how he wins this corner route from the slot. His first move is a jab step with his right foot that allows him to accelerate and quickly cross the face of his coverage. This gives him the space to turn and look for the back shoulder throw and score:
Johnson's burst on the field is extremely impressive. In tight spaces he's quick enough to beat people to a spot, but also comfortable enough with his route tree that he can mix setups of different routes to confuse cornerbacks.
Watch how he does that on a touchdown against Akron in 2017. He knows the cornerback, Kyron Brown, is in man coverage, which usually means the corner has to establish and maintain inside leverage. Johnson counters this by starting off to the inside, forcing Brown to react and establish that leverage.
But as soon as Brown opens up his stance, Johnson switches to run past Brown's outside shoulder, forcing Brown to turn his whole body and give Johnson the time to get behind him for his go route. Johnson finishes with an impressive high-point on the catch:
Efficient footwork means working both accurately and quickly to get to your spot. Good defensive backs can feel out when certain routes are coming and get in position to stop them. That's why switching between routes and setups can be vital to a receiver's success.
The best player on any level to do that in recent history is, well, Antonio Brown.
I know, we're all ready to stop talking about him, but the comparisons between these two players go beyond just both having the same height, Johnson's 40 being just 0.01 seconds faster than Brown's, or both of them excelling in the MAC.
Johnson's work at different levels of his routes keeps cornerbacks on alert at all times and makes it difficult to predict where he's going. That's exactly what Brown has done for years to become the best receiver in the NFL.
And it's not about simply mixing setups, but being so sharp in your footwork that defensive backs cannot tell the difference between a receiver setting up a fake or running his actual route.
Watch how he sets up the cornerback by faking a move eight yards into his route, then finishing with a comeback route eight yards later. By the time the cornerback has reacted to the actual move, Johnson has four yards of separation:
Confusing cornerbacks is what could propel him to a starting job with the Steelers. Here he sets up his crossing pattern and breaks open against Nevada. Those setups are good for creating space for underneath routes and opening up opportunities for big plays:
Washington grew in his rookie season and showed promise in the season finale against the Bengals, catching three passes for 64 yards. But neither he nor Moncrief has put together the resume to comfortably hold the spot behind Smith-Schuster on the depth chart.
Odds are that Washington will make the jump to be the No. 2 receiver by the start of the season. He's a hard worker and the Steelers expect a lot from him.
If Johnson creates openings like he did in college and acclimates quickly, look for Randy Fichtner to increase his snap count. Johnson will certainly have a learning curve, but it's often the sharper route runners comfortable winning against tight coverage who make that jump sooner rather than later.
