History suggests Steelers should wait until third round to draft a wide receiver

Diontae Johnson 2019-current, Steelers 66th overall selection

The Steelers found this little gem still on the draft board with the 66th overall selection. No one will deny they should not have taken him. We do not yet know what happens long turn, but with the departure of JuJu Smith-Schuster and the fact Claypool had a lackluster second season, he comes into 2022 as the number one receiver, and he is not a bad weapon for Mitch Trubisky to have.

He has racked up 2764 yards in three seasons, 20 touchdowns on 254 receptions. There is little to indicate he is close to slowing down either. Clearly, he has not made the Steelers regret selecting him. Now he heads into the final year of his contract, and his only limitations will be how well Trubisky performs.

Assuming 2022 goes well, it seems the Steelers will be poised to re-sign Johnson, making him one of the few receivers to continue his career after his rookie contract. Again we will have to wait until 2023 to find out how that plays out. However, given how thin the Steelers are at wide receiver, given they lost three in free agency and that they have not really replaced any of them, letting Johnson go in 2023 would not be the wisest of decisions.

Despite how good Johnson is and could be, there is still one third-round gem that perhaps someday Johnson can even surpass.