Can we talk about Johnson?

[madinsomniac]

Embattled means they are drafting before the Steelers which is a top 20 pick. Do they want a track record for head scratching drops or lack of deep threat. Just questioning. Juju will not be a Steelers player again. Not after learned more in a week comment.

Again steelers fans irrationally underrate him. You are probably right about Juju though…
And yes, a GM under fire who needs to win right now will absolutely take a known quality guy over a shot in the dark draft pick… first rounder s historically fall a little over 40% of the time. We have an advantage of having a qb that worked with addison and some coaches that saw him practice daily at the south side complex… so if they felt comfortable, it would be from firsthand knowledge … its a unique situation… most times keeping the established guy makes more sense

 

[madinsomniac]

Dionte Johnson has the ability to create yards after the catch very similar to Santonio Holmes. Early in his career I thought he'd be like Tyreek Hill....struggle catching early in his career then turn it on to become a complete WR just like Tyreek Hill. He's got to work more on catching the football with his hands in the offseason if he's ever going to improve. Everything else he does is excellent out there.....he made a few bad plays this season that really stood out in a bad way but he did have 86 receptions this season. I just wish he'd work on his receiving skills. His hands at this point are a liability and the only thing holding him back from becoming an Elite WR.

Going into this game he was 89th in the league for YAC despite being 15th in catches… if they had a UAC per catch stat he would probably be dead last in the league… he was tied with warren going into the Browns game … warren had 25 catches to his 84…. He sucks at yac… even when he gets the ball in space, like that first drive catch… he isn’t a guy to get into the end zone… he is just anti clutch… some guys just don’t have that instinct

 

[SteelerSask2]

Again steelers fans irrationally underrate him. You are probably right about Juju though…
And yes, a GM under fire who needs to win right now will absolutely take a known quality guy over a shot in the dark draft pick… first rounder s historically fall a little over 40% of the time. We have an advantage of having a qb that worked with addison and some coaches that saw him practice daily at the south side complex… so if they felt comfortable, it would be from firsthand knowledge … its a unique situation… most times keeping the established guy makes more sense

Well if someone is offering a first round pick much less a top 20 you can consider me signed and sealed in that corner. I just dont this there is a sniff that's happening but maybe they can throw in some magic beads. I don't hate Johnson
I like him. And you are right you could crap out with a 1st on a receiver. You could also get Justin Jefferson with a top 20.

 

[Steelr4evr]

All I saw from DJ this year from my perspective, was a guy who runs routes well, is kinda shifty, isn't outrunning anyone, goes down really easy when someone gets a hold of him, runs backwards too much trying to zig zag for more yards, mostly loses that battle, the hands suck period. If he doesn't have that by now ,he will never have it. If I could move him I would.

This team needs to invest in the OL,DL,ILB and CB. Then wr at some point.

I don't expect much from free agency,but who knows.

None of this matters if they bring that ******* OC back next season.

Build a better staff. Point blank. Get some real teachers.


For the first time in a very long time I feel optimistic they could really contend in the next two years if they make wise choices.

**** they turned a train wreck into a winning season just by getting back to the basics of running the ball well,limiting risk and not turning it over. Some of those clock eating drives reminded me of the Cowher days. Perfect for growing your rookie QB.

 

[madinsomniac]

Well if someone is offering a first round pick much less a top 20 you can consider me signed and sealed in that corner. I just dont this there is a sniff that's happening but maybe they can throw in some magic beads. I don't hate Johnson
I like him. And you are right you could crap out with a 1st on a receiver. You could also get Justin Jefferson with a top 20.

I mean I would never trade him to the Chiefs or anything… but there are some wr desperate teams drafting a little higher than us… having two cost controlled wrs for the next three to four years would be huge… his contract is guaranteed next year, but if we traded him that goes to the other team, as does the two roster bonuses he has. We eat about 11.6 million next season from tge signing bonus, but it frees up just under 5 million bucks… but then the season after it frees up like 16 million dollars so basically the other team gets him at like 11 mil a season… for a guy who is going to catch 80-100 balls…

 

[Chicoman]

Going into this game he was 89th in the league for YAC despite being 15th in catches… if they had a UAC per catch stat he would probably be dead last in the league… he was tied with warren going into the Browns game … warren had 25 catches to his 84…. He sucks at yac… even when he gets the ball in space, like that first drive catch… he isn’t a guy to get into the end zone… he is just anti clutch… some guys just don’t have that instinct

The YAC stats this season is due to scheme and our OC than it is our talent at WR.

 

[JMM]

 

[madinsomniac]

The YAC stats this season is due to scheme and our OC than it is our talent at WR.

Nope he runs into tackles a lot. I’ve seen enough scouting reports on it… he constantly tries to juke or do a wide around instead of maximizing yardage… he just isn’t a great open field runner.. he is a weird walking oxymoron of a player… he should have mad YAC skills.. he should be better on the sidelines… he should have better ball skills.. so disciplined in his routes and so undisciplined everywhere else

 

[SteelerSask2]

Nope he runs into tackles a lot. I’ve seen enough scouting reports on it… he constantly tries to juke or do a wide around instead of maximizing yardage… he just isn’t a great open field runner.. he is a weird walking oxymoron of a player… he should have mad YAC skills.. he should be better on the sidelines… he should have better ball skills.. so disciplined in his routes and so undisciplined everywhere else

The best part of all this is how you gotta **** on the guy enough but still believe he is worth a one.

 

[madinsomniac]

The best part of all this is how you gotta **** on the guy enough but still believe he is worth a one.

Because both are true… DJ isn’t an all pro type receiver… but the type of receiver he is is currently worth a first.. he is flawed, but he does routinely get open and that is invaluable in this age of high tech offenses… he catches 62% of his targets… thats solid number one territory.. i just feel that he lacks that gamebreaking playmaking trait that really makes a smaller wr worth being the focus of the O… I think we can get that right now from addison.., i think if we are looking two or three years down the road there are some mid round wrs who can give us that too, though that’s more of a gamble

 

[SteelerSask2]

Because both are true… DJ isn’t an all pro type receiver… but the type of receiver he is is currently worth a first.. he is flawed, but he does routinely get open and that is invaluable in this age of high tech offenses… he catches 62% of his targets… thats solid number one territory.. i just feel that he lacks that gamebreaking playmaking trait that really makes a smaller wr worth being the focus of the O… I think we can get that right now from addison.., i think if we are looking two or three years down the road there are some mid round wrs who can give us that too, though that’s more of a gamble

I don't see them taking a weapon away from KP. But I also don't think anyone is coming calling with a 1st. Between FA and the draft too many options. Looks like Green Bay will be in the market for an experienced receiver if Rogers returns.

 

[FordFairLane]

I don’t think they trade DJ either. He’s a good teammate, an above average player, reasonably priced. Doesn’t fit the mold of a guy we trade. AB, Holmes, Bryant and to a lesser extent Claypool had some red flags. But I would hope at the very least Khan would listen if someone started offering up a 1st.

 

[madinsomniac]

I don’t think they trade DJ either. He’s a good teammate, an above average player, reasonably priced. Doesn’t fit the mold of a guy we trade. AB, Holmes, Bryant and to a lesser extent Claypool had some red flags. But I would hope at the very least Khan would listen if someone started offering up a 1st.

We traded all of the rest at their low point of value on the team… rumors were that they wanted to trade Holmes after the season in 08, but after that catch they felt they had to keep him… had they dealt him the year before we could have gotten a much higher pick, though maybe we miss out on AB… as for AB, they should have learned their lesson and dealt him when he started griping about his reworked contract the first time… we could have gotten well over a First before his meltdown…

Dj has some minor flags.. nothing critical though… i don’t like how tgey force him the ball to appease him like tgey did ab though… we are missing wide open guys with him always being the first read

 

[Omar10213245]

RURRURR!!!!

 

[jitter77]

If we trade DJ away Pickens will be easier for other teams to take out of the game. Teams are going to start to plan against Pickens as is and w/o a guy like DJ to take some coverage away it will be much harder for Pickens. Pickens get frustrated easy and could end up mentally checking out of games. If we trade DJ we are basically going to have to throw that draft pick back at a WR and who knows how that pick will turn out. We will save some $$, but is that money worth sacrificing a quality offensive target. To me it is not worth it. I would stick w/ DJ until we absolutely can not afford him and hope CAIII develops or at least gets on the field.

 

[topseed]

I like the fact that DJ is really good at getting open with separation. The route running and catching is abysmal and needs work. I doubt he will ever be able to kick these last 2 habits. If he can clean up the drops. The route running thing you can live with. Dropping the ball could and will end up being costly down the road in important games. We are talking easy drops thrown right to him.

Um, there's nothing wrong with DJ's route-running -- that's why he's often good at getting open with separation. His hands are the problem.

 

[slashsteel]

If we trade DJ away Pickens will be easier for other teams to take out of the game. Teams are going to start to plan against Pickens as is and w/o a guy like DJ to take some coverage away it will be much harder for Pickens. Pickens get frustrated easy and could end up mentally checking out of games. If we trade DJ we are basically going to have to throw that draft pick back at a WR and who knows how that pick will turn out. We will save some $$, but is that money worth sacrificing a quality offensive target. To me it is not worth it. I would stick w/ DJ until we absolutely can not afford him and hope CAIII develops or at least gets on the field.

I just try to upgrade the room by adding a WR with one of the first three picks. A QB is at his best spreading the ball around. So you draft a WR to go with DJ and Pickens. That one extra playmaker is needed to give Pickens an option that can get open like DJ.

Upgrade your weakest links.

That for the Steelers would be LT,RT, ILber, slot WR, and CB.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Dj has some minor flags.. nothing critical though… i don’t like how tgey force him the ball to appease him like tgey did ab though… we are missing wide open guys with him always being the first read

This. By the middle of the second quarter yesterday the wife and I were asking why they kept throwing to him when he kept dropping everything while Pickens is catching the few passes thrown to him except for one that was way over his head. All I could think of was they wanted to get him A TD for the season because he was probably bitching about it.

 

[xjx]

Stop trying to please one diva player. Please the fans with a win.

 

[Steeltime]

Because some teams simply want a track record, especially with embattled GMs… we have not had great success drafting and developing DBs the last decade and a half or so…

I am sick of that narrative - "these guys can't draft and develop CB's." Really? Based on what?

Let's take a look at every 1st round CB taken the past 24 drafts. Here goes:

• Artie Burns CB Miami (2016)

Yep, THAT'S IT. One effing guy - ONE. So we should have passed on TJ Watt because Jarvis Jones sucked, is that the theory?? Alrightee then, let's take a look at every CB taken in the first THREE rounds of the past 5 drafts. Here goes:

• Justin Layne CB Michigan State (2019)
• Cam Sutton CB Tennessee (2017)

Wait, they MISSED ON A GUY IN 2019???? My God, never again.

What you mean to say is that the Steelers have not had success in drafting quality CB's in the 4th round or later. Wow, shocking.

CB with the 1st pick 2023. LT at 32, WR/NT at 49. By pick 45 or so, the five best CB's are all gone and yet again the Steelers will be hoping to hit on a later pick at a key position.

 

[FordFairLane]

If we trade DJ away Pickens will be easier for other teams to take out of the game. Teams are going to start to plan against Pickens as is and w/o a guy like DJ to take some coverage away it will be much harder for Pickens. Pickens get frustrated easy and could end up mentally checking out of games. If we trade DJ we are basically going to have to throw that draft pick back at a WR and who knows how that pick will turn out. We will save some $$, but is that money worth sacrificing a quality offensive target. To me it is not worth it. I would stick w/ DJ until we absolutely can not afford him and hope CAIII develops or at least gets on the field.

Yes, but it isn't like we are replacing AB. AB was a legit 1500 yard receiver where DJ is a solid 1000 yard receiver guy. There's a big difference in replacing a guy who leads the league in receptions and yards vs a guy who leads the team. And it's not like we aren't throwing him the ball. Johnson ahs 460 targets the last three years. AB had 485 his last three years with us. But Johnson has 281 catches for 2966 yards with 15 TD's while Brown had 311 catches for 4114 yards and 36 TD's. Now I am not saying DJ needs to be AB but when he was drafted the comparison was made. I think a good rookie could easily fill 80% of DJ's production and you could probably swing the other 20% over to Pickens and not miss a beat.

 

[Stryker]

DJ isn't an 18M/yr WR because he never was. I don't know how many times I have to point to his contract, but it was a 2 year extension changing the value of his last year to be $39M over 3 seasons. $13M/yr average. $7.6M cap this year $16.3M next year, $15.8 2024. Cheap as balls for a top targeted WR. Want him to be more productive, start having him run slants instead of 5yd outs.

You are all right that you would have to trade him to avoid his $19.6M dead cap, so there is no way the Steelers will release him. Possible after next season when his dead cap would drop to $5.8M, but I doubt that would happen.

I do have eyes, I watch games and performances objectively, and DJ played like dogshit against the Browns. Were the Steelers right to bench him at the end of the half for their final drive? Yes. Were they right to start him in the 2nd half? Yes they were. Why? This was our WR alignment when DJ went down: Pickens X, Gunner Y, Sims Z.

Pickens was running X routes, and though his footwork was sloppy on his breaks, he showed me he can work into that role if he has to. The problem was, Gunner wasn't getting open in the slot, and Sims was very easy to cover as a Z. I personally would have kept Pickens at Z and allowed Sims to run the X routes (which he usually does when DJ goes down), but it looked like the Steelers wanted to see if GP could take the hot targets.

If this WR alignment continued in the 2nd half, I'm not sure if we would have won the game. DJ had 2 chances to get TDs on EZ routes, he was open on both and both were deflected at the LOS. He had a nice catch for his 2nd 2pt conversion, but that was window dressing.

The only negative I can say about DJ is his drops increase at the end of the season. I don't have an answer for that at all, but with it happening 2 years in a row, it is now a trend, and he needs to grow out of it.

 

[stuntmanmike]

I don’t understand building an offense where you throw the ball to johnson 147 times… I don’t get it. He isn’t the fastest he isn’t the biggest or that open he only caught 58 pct. Who thinks that up? he’s just average. He’s not AB and never will be. That’s how you get to be 9-8. johnson is as boring and mediocre as the rest of Canada’s offense.

 

[BLITZ]

what does his tweet mean? "aint going to say much but stay tuned" weird

 

[madinsomniac]

what does his tweet mean? "aint going to say much but stay tuned" weird

I wish he’d drop some more clues… im sure we would catch on to what he was fumbling to say