Diontae Johnson is a must-own player in Fantasy Football
By Scott Long
Diontae Johnson is heavily involved in the Steelers offense and presents a potential breakout player in fantasy football this year.
Despite an up and down season last year for Diontae Johnson, he showed flashes of being an elite wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Injuries and drops plagued him throughout the season, but Ben Roethlisberger showed a continued willingness to get the ball his way.
Johnson is entering his third season in the NFL and is coming at a discount in fantasy football drafts due to the presence of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool on the Steelers offense, in addition to his issues with drops and injuries. However, if he can limit the drops and stay healthy, he seems poised for a breakout, as the Steelers proved that they can provide three fantasy-relevant wide receivers last year.
Opportunity
One of the top things to look for in fantasy football is a player’s target share. When looking at target share, it’s impossible to ignore Johnson or his involvement in the Steelers’ offense. Despite missing one game, and leaving two others early due to injury, Johnson still finished eighth in the NFL in targets with 144. With that kind of target share, Johnson is clearly a player that should be targeted in all fantasy leagues, especially considering that is with time missed via injury, the number could rise even more if he stays healthy.
Roethlisberger clearly trusts Johnson despite his issues with drops, and this should continue this season. Despite the presence of Smith-Schuster and Claypool, Johnson was usually Roethlisberger’s most targeted receiver whenever he was healthy.