Steelers biggest draft reliefs over the past ten years
By Andrew Falce
Drafting Johnson over some more established prospects
While the results are still early on the 2019 draft, the Steelers drafting of Diontae Johnson already seems like a home run. He is the perfect complement to JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington, providing a shifty option who can escape defenders. Johnson was ranked much lower on most boards though, meaning the Steelers “reached” for him.
Options like Miles Boykin, Hakeem Butler, and Jalen Hurd all went after Johnson did, and all of them were arguably ranked higher than Johnson. Yet, he has the most upside of those three going into their sophomore year. The Steelers took a risk in drafting him, but the early payoffs seem positive.
The only option that may have made more sense looking back was Terry McLaurin. However, McLaurin is more of a Z type, as his speed and size make him a natural deep threat. Johnson fills the X spot perfectly, as his body type and play style make him a threat over the intermediate field. Overall, the Steelers made a great choice grabbing Johnson over any of the other options in the draft.