LATROBE, Pa. -- Mitch Trubisky dropped back to pass early in Thursday's final training camp practice here at Saint Vincent College and let a pass fly deep over the middle.
Diontae Johnson, who had gotten a step on the corner covering him, easily ran under the ball and continued down the middle to the end zone, much to the delight of the crowd on hand.
It's something we didn't see a lot of from the Steelers' offense in 2021, but we might see more of in 2022 as the team moves on from the Ben Roethlisberger era.
Roethlisberger could throw the ball deep last season, but he didn't seem to have the control over those passes like he had earlier in his career. So all too often, when the Steelers took a deep shot, it was something safe down the sideline, often a jump-ball to Chase Claypool.
Johnson? He caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards, but with a long catch of 50 yards. All too often, his catches were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and facing the quarterback, not giving him a great chance to take advantage of his ability to run after the catch.
The offense in this camp has been focused on getting the ball deeper, with the quarterbacks, whether it's Trubisky, Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett, using the mobility Roethlisberger no longer had late in his career, to create deeper routes, whether that be via play-action or rollouts.
"I would say so," Johnson said of seeing more depth of targets in 2022. "To me, it doesn’t really matter what plays they call. It’s what you do after the catch, anyway. That’s what I feel like. I have fun after the catch. If you’re able to get in and out of your breaks and the ball comes your way, you make a turn and it’s up to you what you do with it after that. Guys have been showing they can do that and they’re going to continue to show that, continue to improve. I feel like, for me, I’m going to make plays regardless, because that’s what I do. I’m really excited about this year. I’m looking forward to it."
There has been conjecture that the Steelers might get more conservative on offense with Roethlisberger in retirement, instead choosing to ride second-year running back Najee Harris. But with targets such as Johnson, Claypool, rookie George Pickens and second-year tight end Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers can put a group of eligible receivers on the field that look awfully enticing for offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
The Steelers threw the ball on 61.8 percent of their plays last season. Only Tampa Bay with Tom Brady at quarterback, threw the ball a higher percentage of the time. That's likely to go down a bit. But don't expect the Steelers to come out and run the ball 50 percent of the time in 2022, either. The Steelers didn't give Johnson a two-year, $36.7-million contract extension or spent high draft picks on all of these passing targets -- including Pickens in the second round this year -- to not use them.
Roethlisberger often got rid of the football in 2.5 seconds or less last season, but the plan seems to be to have deeper routes this season to back opponents off the line of scrimmage.
"They can say what they want. They’re not here working with us every day," Johnson said. "I don’t listen to the outside stuff. We know the game plan. They don’t. Hearing people say it’s going to be run heavy, it’s not. Sit back and watch the game. We’ll let the game speak for itself. We’ll let that do the talking for us."
Johnson thinks the group of eligible receivers the Steelers can throw at opposing teams will dictate that the Steelers will still throw the ball -- a lot -- regardless of who Mike Tomlin has at quarterback.
"We’re a young group. But we’re guys with experience other than GP," he said, referring to Pickens. "It’s his rookie year. He doesn’t play like a rookie. He plays like he’s been in the league five or six years already. Getting to have everybody out there as one will show what we can do as a unit. Once we get to clicking and get the offense going, I feel like, I know Coach said defense wins games, but I feel like the offense can win games just as well. We’ve got enough talent. I’m not discrediting anyone else, but I know we’re going to get the job done. Us four or five out there as a unit, whether we’re young or not as experienced, that doesn’t matter. We can play."
What we didn't see in this camp was a lot of that top group on the field together. Johnson missed time while sitting out awaiting a new contract and then with a minor hip injury. Claypool was on and off the field with shoulder injuries. Freiermuth had a hamstring injury that cost him a couple of weeks of practice, while it was a foot issue that sidelined Harris for a couple of weeks.
But they were all back on the field all this week for practices and should see time together in Saturday's preseason game in Jacksonville, Fla.
It's none too soon for Trubisky, who remains atop the team's depth chart at quarterback.
"We’ve just got to keep getting everyone healthy and keep developing that chemistry and seeing what this offense can be," Trubisky said. "This weekend will be a lot more telling than last weekend, just having those guys back. I’m excited to see it."
Johnson doesn't think opposing defenses will be quite so excited.
In fact, once the season starts, it will be interesting to see who opposing defenses focus on stopping. Will it be Johnson, coming off a Pro Bowl season? Or, it could be loading up to slow Harris, who rushed for 1,200 yards as a rookie? It could be Claypool, who at 6 feet 4, 238 pounds, presents matchup issues in the slot, or Freiermuth, who had 60 catches as a rookie. And Pickens was the star of camp, showing off acrobatic catches daily.
Pick your poison.
"It’s kind of tough to say right now. I don’t know to be honest," Johnson said. "If I would to say, I’d say me and then Chase on the inside. They’re probably going to leave GP one-on-one until teams see what he can do. Good luck with that. You can try, but it’s going to be tough. They’re going to try to see what he can do and try to make him earn his respect out there. If they do that, double me or Chase or Pat. That’s a one-on-one opportunity for somebody else. I hope they keep doing that."
