Player
Diontae Johnson
WR
He was PIT's separator-route WR1 from 2019 to 2023, drafted in round 3 right after the Antonio Brown trade and stepping into the X role on a Roethlisberger-then-Pickett offense.
7-year career, 4,949 receiving yards on 445 catches — 1x Pro Bowl as the PIT slot WR1 of the late Roethlisberger era.
MilestoneCareer regular-season totals
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Games | 92 |
| Receptions | 445 |
| Receiving Yards | 4,949 |
| Receiving TDs | 30 |
| Y/R | 11.12 |
| Pro Bowls | 1 (2021) |
Why it matters. He was PIT's separator-route WR1 from 2019 to 2023, drafted in round 3 right after the Antonio Brown trade and stepping into the X role on a Roethlisberger-then-Pickett offense.
2021 PIT Pro Bowl: 112 catches, 1,195 yards, 9 TDs — Roethlisberger's last great WR season.
TrendJohnson PIT peak years
| Year | Rec | Yds | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 59 | 680 | 5 |
| 2020 | 99 | 1,040 | 7 |
| 2021 | 112 | 1,195 | 9 |
| 2022 | 86 | 882 | 0 |
| 2023 | 55 | 765 | 6 |
Receiving yards by year
| Season | Yards |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 680 |
| 2020 | 1040 |
| 2021 | 1195 |
| 2022 | 882 |
| 2023 | 765 |
Why it matters. 2021 was the only Roethlisberger year where Johnson was the unambiguous WR1 from week 1, and the 27.6% target share is a level he never matched again after the Pickett era began.
PIT (2019-23) → CAR (2024) → BAL (2024) → HOU (2024-25). Three teams in 2024 alone — the disgruntled-WR shuffle.
SplitJohnson team history
| Stop | Years | Rec | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | 2019-23 | 411 | 4,562 |
| CAR | 2024 | 30 | 357 |
| BAL | 2024 | 1 | 6 |
| HOU | 2024-25 | 3 | 24 |
Why it matters. Johnson's stops outside Pittsburgh produced just 387 yards across three rosters — the trajectory of a route-tree-specialized WR who never re-acclimated to a new system after leaving the PIT scheme.
His 2022 PIT season — 86 catches, 0 TDs — is the only 80+ reception, 0 TD WR season since 1999.
RareWR seasons since 1999 with 80+ rec and 0 TD
| Player | Year | Rec | Yds | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diontae Johnson | 2022 | 86 | 882 | 0 |
Johnson 2022 line
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Targets | 147 |
| Receptions | 86 |
| Yards | 882 |
| TDs | 0 |
Why it matters. The PIT 2022 offense ranked among the league's lowest in passing TDs (Trubisky+Pickett combined for 11 in 17 games), and Johnson absorbed targets without ever finding the end zone — a once-in-a-generation freak split for a primary WR.
In 2021, his 1,195 yds led PIT WRs by 310 — the post-Antonio Brown WR1 baton was officially passed.
ComparisonPIT 2021 WR yards leaders
| Player | Rec | Yds | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diontae Johnson | 112 | 1,195 | 9 |
| Chase Claypool | 62 | 885 | 2 |
| James Washington | 26 | 322 | 3 |
| Ray-Ray McCloud | 41 | 297 | 0 |
Why it matters. The PIT WR depth chart had three drafted-by-PIT receivers competing for targets — Johnson's 1,195 over Claypool's 885 ended the question of who Big Ben trusted in his last year.
His 2024 BAL stop: 5 targets, 1 catch, 6 yards in 3 games before release — then 5 targets, 3 catches in 2 HOU games.
Anomaly2024 Johnson — three rosters, one season
| Team | Games | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR (wk 1-7) | 7 | 58 | 30 | 357 | 3 |
| BAL (wk 10-12) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| HOU (wk 18-19) | 2 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 0 |
Why it matters. The CAR-to-BAL usage drop wasn't injury or matchup — Johnson went from CAR's clear WR1 (8.3 targets/game) to BAL's WR5 inside a month, the kind of mid-season role collapse that usually only happens to UDFAs.
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