New England Patriots: 3 Steelers to fear in Week 2 AFC matchup
Pittsburgh Steelers player to watch No. 2: Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson has quietly emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL over the past few seasons. He hasn’t always had great quarterback play, but he made the most of his final season with Ben Roethlisberger in 2021, and turned in the best season of his career (107 REC, 1161 YDS, 8 TD).
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Johnson came up alongside fellow wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool, but he quickly emerged as the best of the bunch, and he has already become one of new Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s most trusted targets. Johnson didn’t have a huge performance in Week 1, with his seven catches going for just 55 yards, but he made an early entry for the catch of the year honors.
HOW DID DIONTAE JOHNSON CATCH THIS? 🤯
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 11, 2022
(via @steelers)pic.twitter.com/CNZX3aTkKQ
Even with Trubisky’s uneven quarterback play, Johnson is a threat to pull off a big play at any given moment. He can be a security blanket, or he can rip off absurd catches likes the one above further down the field. You can’t ignore him just because Trubisky isn’t the best quarterback in the world.
The New England Patriots defense did a pretty good job keeping Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in check during their Week 1 contest, but they will have their hands full again with Johnson, Claypool, and George Pickens in Week 2. Johnson is the most dangerous of the bunch, though, and it will be interesting to see how head coach Bill Belichick plans on defending Pittsburgh’s best wide receiver.