3. Diontae Johnson has nowhere to go but up
You know what they say, 'There's nowhere to go but up'. This couldn't be more true for a player like Diontae Johnson. The veteran wide receiver hit rock bottom in 2022. While he still impressed as a route runner with his ability to create separation, Johnson struggled with drops and was atrocious with the ball in his hands.
Despite a substantial workload that included a whopping 147 targets in the passing game, Johnson turned his opportunities into just 882 yards and 0 touchdowns. This equated to a disgusting 6.0 yards per target and a passer rating of just 58.8 when targetted.
From an efficiency standpoint, 2022 was Johnson's worst season by a mile. Fortunately, this probably means that he's only going to get better in 2023. In 2021, Johnson earned Pro Bowl honors after catching 107 passes for 1,161 yards and 8 touchdowns. Even if the production doesn't match that impressive number we saw, the efficiency is guaranteed to improve.
In all honesty, Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett need to consider target distribution, and Johnson's role should go down as players like George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth should take a bigger bite of the apple. If they don't have to rely on him so much in 2023, Diontae Johnson will be an improved player for the Steelers.