Pittsburgh Steelers: It’s finally Diontae Johnson time

The Pittsburgh Steelers have informed Diontae Johnson that he will start at receiver against the 49ers this weekend. They’re about to let it fly.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are ushering in a new era all over the place this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers.

Pittsburgh has washed its hands of Antonio Brown. It has placed Ben Roethlisberger on season-ending injured reserve and cemented Mason Rudolph as the new starting quarterback.

Now, they are benching free agent receiver Donte Moncrief in favor of third-round pick Diontae Johnson, the former Toledo Rocket who was a big play threat every time he touched the football.

When the Steelers run a three-wide set on Sunday, they will line up with Mason Rudolph at the QB, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, and now Diontae Spencer at receiver.

Air-raid coaches all around college football might just have to raise a glass and shed a tear at how beautiful a sight that will be. The Steelers are certainly one of the NFL’s own versions of the ‘air-raid’ offense as they threw 675 passes last season (most in the NFL), 590 the year before that, and 596 the year before that.

Now the Steelers will be able to spread the ball around to three fascinating and all very different types of home-grown receivers, and we know this is a team that has been known for developing premiere talent at the receiver position in recent years.

So what makes this player special? Why did the Steelers use the second overall pick in the third round on a wide receiver out of Toledo?

Greatest strengths

Winning at the line of scrimmage

Although Johnson is just 5-foot-10, maybe 185 pounds, he’s one of the best receivers in this rookie class at winning at the line of scrimmage.

He uses his quickness, suddenness, and short-area agility to beat guys off the line and he does it with regularity.

Making plays in space

Not only can Johnson put defensive backs in a spin cycle at the beginning of his route, he can make them look even more foolish in the open field. If this guy is able to get the ball in space, he’s very instinctive in how to cut around the field and maneuver his way for extra yardage.

He doesn’t have blazing speed for his size — he ran a 4.53 at the Scouting Combine — but he’s fast enough and does a good job of winning at all levels of the field.

Big plays

This guy is a master of big plays. He made a number of huge plays (80-plus yards) in college as a receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner.

The Steelers might need some time to get this new operation rolling along, but the prospects they have offensively are exciting and this is a great year for them to find out what the new era in the Steel City could look like.