Rookie WR Johnson showcasing ‘sweet feet’
LATROBE 无毛视频� If the Pittsburgh Steelers hadn无毛视频檛 already nicknamed their new offensive line coach 无毛视频淪weet Feet,无毛视频� they would surely use it on their rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
The surprise third-round draft pick out of Toledo started camp slowly with ugly drops each day 无毛视频� this after an injury-plagued and poorly conditioned spring.
But in the last two practices 无毛视频� both in pads 无毛视频� Johnson has showcased his sweet feet for at least three big plays:
n In 无毛视频淪even Shots无毛视频� on Sunday, Johnson shook safety Kameron Kelly with a quick and subtle move that was so sweet he was five feet open along the back line for an easy touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph.
n On Monday, Johnson caught a slant inside from Rudolph and immediately came to a dead stop to let cornerback Justin Layne pass by. Johnson then cut outside for a big gain down the sideline.
n And in the next period, Johnson made that same cut the opposite way. He took a short out, stopped, and let Kelly run by him before cutting back, inside this time, for a big gain through the middle.
All of this after a surprisingly stout blocking period to open practice when his 183 pounds shoved Brian Allen, P.J. Locke and Marcelis Branch around seemingly at his will.
After a sluggish start with the Steelers, Johnson is making the scouts and coaches 无毛视频� who said they HAD to draft him before well-known prospects such as Hakeem Butler 无毛视频� look pretty smart.
无毛视频淵eah, there无毛视频檚 no doubt he can play,无毛视频� said offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. 无毛视频淭he thing about having a past, I know the day that AB got here; I know the day Emmanuel (Sanders) got here; I know the workout Mike Wallace had. I was there at all their pro days. I watched them then, I saw them in the draft, I saw them when they got here Day One, and I saw what they were when they left. And the truth with every single one of them is that it never really lights up like you want at that position in Game One. Or if they are playing, they无毛视频檙e not playing like a 1, 2, or 3, more like a 3.5 or 4. But you have to play. The more Diontae plays and the more time spends with our strength coach and adds that natural 10 pounds of strength, he无毛视频檒l come in just like some of those guys.无毛视频�
Of the three receivers Fichtner mentioned, Johnson compares physically to to Antonio Brown, who came out of a MAC school at 5-10, 186 with a 4.48 40.
Johnson came out of his MAC school at 5-10, 183 with a 4.53 40.
无毛视频淣ow in no way am I ever comparing them,无毛视频� Fichtner said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 just using experiences. And the experience is that AB wasn无毛视频檛 quite ready to be in our receivers mix full-time, and yet he returned a kickoff against Tennessee early in his career, and then he was good on punt returns, and then he did a lot of nice things, and then in game 10, 11 or 13, he started making some plays as a receiver, and then he catches this ball against his helmet and puts us in the Super Bowl. From there he became Antonio Brown. So I无毛视频檓 not under the illusion that 18 (Johnson) has to go out there in Game One and whup Stephen Gilmore. We无毛视频檝e got veteran guys. We无毛视频檝e got more guys. But we might have to suck up three or four plays in a game where we go 无毛视频極h, man, here无毛视频檚 a rookie.无毛视频� But there无毛视频檒l be a point where it无毛视频檚 going to click and everything无毛视频檚 going to be there 无毛视频� the physical part, the mental part 无毛视频� and then all of the sudden I think you无毛视频檙e going to see the talent just flow and he无毛视频檚 not going to be unlike any of those others. The good problem would be several years from now we无毛视频檒l be trying to figure out how we无毛视频檙e going to keep him. That无毛视频檚 how I feel about him, because I really feel that he无毛视频檚 got really good talent.无毛视频�
The problem in the spring was that Johnson was poorly conditioned due to the draft circuit, and when his hamstring tightened, the coaching staff cut his workload way down. They wanted him to be healthy enough to get in shape over the summer and report to training camp ready to go.
He did exactly that, but, as Fichnter pointed out, he still wasn无毛视频檛 in NFL shape.
无毛视频淒iontae started getting tired (Sunday) at the end,无毛视频� Fichtner said. 无毛视频淗is finish wasn无毛视频檛 quite like some of the pros were, so he无毛视频檚 got a long way to go in that regard. But you see he无毛视频檚 a natural talent. He无毛视频檚 an extension-catcher. He无毛视频檚 quick in and out of cuts. He does very similar things to those past guys who were built very similarly when they were young. I can无毛视频檛 say that he can ever be some of those guys, but he has the right stuff to do that. I just know those guys worked their ass off.
无毛视频淏ut, he did make it through the whole practice. He didn无毛视频檛 give into it. He wanted to. He looked at me right there at the end of team (scrimmage) and was like 无毛视频楥oach I无毛视频檓 tired, man.无毛视频� I asked about his hammies and he said 无毛视频業无毛视频檓 fine, just tired.无毛视频� I told him 无毛视频榊ou无毛视频檝e got to finish. We无毛视频檝e got three more plays.无毛视频� We pushed him to finish and he realized he didn无毛视频檛 die.无毛视频�
The next day Johnson was even better. He not only finished, he finished strong. Johnson was running the final routes with and against third-teamers well past when the clock on the wall said 0:00. Johnson didn无毛视频檛 even look to Fichtner for relief.
Afterwards, Johnson did pushups with the wide receiver group and then raced up the hill past autograph seekers to get in a lift before dinner. He even did a brief interview on the fly.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 coming,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been able to get my legs up under me with these pads on, and every day my wind无毛视频檚 picking up. Getting my wind, that无毛视频檚 my main focus.无毛视频�
That and learning the playbook, which he says will make his play even smoother.
Fichtner went deep to describe how smooth a receiver Johnson already is.
无毛视频淲hen the ball无毛视频檚 in the air, he无毛视频檚 not a drifter,无毛视频� Fichtner said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 always shaving towards the football, and when you shave to the football naturally, like Santonio Holmes, AB, Hines, that means you无毛视频檙e extremely confident in your ability to snatch the football, because it无毛视频檚 getting you closer to that ball quicker, with extension, and not only did we buy a half a yard with the DB, but if I无毛视频檓 an extension catcher I无毛视频檝e gained another yard, OK? So, he does that naturally.
无毛视频淚 know separation无毛视频檚 tough. And that无毛视频檚 where that strength comes into play and that无毛视频檚 where that toughness comes into play and you无毛视频檝e gotta be strong. I would love if we could fast-forward a year of him with (strength coach) Garrett Giemont. I would say, whoa, OK. Now we have a player.无毛视频�
After a shaky start, it looks like they might at that.