Diontae Johnson 2020 Outlook

[Foppatosakic 184]

I think we've seen when healthy Diontae has a large role in this offense stemming all the way starting last year. I agree with others that he was looking to taking steps to a WR2 with possible WR1 upside in the 1st two games. I think now we can temper to WR3 with WR2 upside with room to grow.

[Edgeraid 208]

Will settle for him making it through a game without getting hurt and losing me another week. 

That said, he looked great the first two games. The potential is there. If he stays healthy I don't see why he can't get back within range of those numbers. Claypool's been great but outside of week 5 he hasn't had more than 4 targets in a game. 

[Kaii23 342]

3 minutes ago, Edgeraid said:

Will settle for him making it through a game without getting hurt and losing me another week. 

That said, he looked great the first two games. The potential is there. If he stays healthy I don't see why he can't get back within range of those numbers. Claypool's been great but outside of week 5 he hasn't had more than 4 targets in a game. 

Johnson will probably regain his spot as the top target. Claypool will be #2 but will still be huge fantasy wise because he's a monster. Ben is almost at the end of the line. I don't think he's gonna care about wasting targets on juju. He wants to win now. Dj and Claypool will both eat. 

[trolltoll 212]

1 hour ago, Biig_Pressure21 said:

Word on the Street in Pitt. is D. Johnson & C. Claypool have moved up to #1 and #2 on WR Depth Chart.  Juju dropped to 3rd.  Also hearing Whispers that Pittsburgh is looking to Trade Juju by the deadline.  Could get interesting!

Words and whispers eh...... do tell.

[Illusion_J 132]

I'll be a bit of a devil's advocate to the positivity now that we've seen a few weeks.  Ben is on pace for less than 3,800 yards on the year and there are a ton of receiving options on this team.  They aren't going to need to be throwing much as long as their defense can shut people down and the running game is working alright.  

Being honest with myself, not sure I see consistent upside here.  Johnson will likely have some games where he's the focal point and gets nice numbers, but there are so many other talented options that there's no point forcing him targets.  I'm gonna hang on as a bye week play, but wouldn't be surprised if the numbers are a little eratic. 

[FeastMode 364]

The week after Claypool blew up, he got 4 targets. 3 other players got 4 or more, and that was in a blowout, where Ben only attempted 23 passes.  Ben averages between 30-40.  He targeted Dionte Johnson 23 times in the first two weeks.  The question isn’t whether Johnson is better than claypool or vice versa.  The question is whether Johnson has a role that could lead to fantasy production.  In PPR I think he does. He missed 2.5 games and still has close to as many targets as anyone else on the team.  Claypool can still have 7-8 targets (he averaged ~8 with Johnson out), and there are still plenty of targets to go around.  Johnson was heavily targeted every game he has played, after preseason practice.  No other Steelers WR can say that.  I’ll take a 4/50 floor in PPR with WR1/2 upside, and I think that’s what he presents.

[luckBbrady 44]

This is how Hayden Winks referred to him this week: "Average talent. WR1/2 usage before Claypool popped. WR3/4"

 

The "average talent" surprised me. Suggests his previous success is only a result of the team he plays for?

[Impreza178 6,031]

22 hours ago, Illusion_J said:

I'll be a bit of a devil's advocate to the positivity now that we've seen a few weeks.  Ben is on pace for less than 3,800 yards on the year and there are a ton of receiving options on this team.  They aren't going to need to be throwing much as long as their defense can shut people down and the running game is working alright.  

Being honest with myself, not sure I see consistent upside here.  Johnson will likely have some games where he's the focal point and gets nice numbers, but there are so many other talented options that there's no point forcing him targets.  I'm gonna hang on as a bye week play, but wouldn't be surprised if the numbers are a little eratic. 

Agree.    DJ isn’t startable outside of terrible fantasy teams shredded by injury.    
 

wally pipp happens 🤷‍♂️. Not like Diontae ever seized the role and dominated like AB did.  

[cheezor42 485]

13 minutes ago, luckBbrady said:

This is how Hayden Winks referred to him this week: "Average talent. WR1/2 usage before Claypool popped. WR3/4"

 

The "average talent" surprised me. Suggests his previous success is only a result of the team he plays for?

haha these “experts” man. Ya getting the most separation in the league your rookie year is super “average”. These cats just ride the latest hype trains like everyone else and have the memory length of about 2 weeks.  These reductive sound bites on twitter help no one really.  Healthy Diontae has a big role in this offense.

[luckBbrady 44]

7 minutes ago, cheezor42 said:

haha these “experts” man. Ya getting the most separation in the league your rookie year is super “average”. These cats just ride the latest hype trains like everyone else and have the memory length of about 2 weeks.  These reductive sound bites on twitter help no one really.  Healthy Diontae has a big role in this offense.

Often it seems obvious they're going by box score, completely oblivious to the situational aspect of things. 

[Impreza178 6,031]

1 minute ago, luckBbrady said:

Often it seems obvious they're going by box score, completely oblivious to the situational aspect of things. 

situational....like....their other young wr breaking out and dominating 2 weeks in a row?   We are just going to pretend everything is the same with the Steelers wrs as before Claypool emerged?   🤔 
 

Diontae has some talent but if he’s not getting the target share,   He’s going to be risky to trust any given week.  
hold and see what happens....seems the prudent thing to do.  

[Travis Burten 942]

46 minutes ago, Impreza178 said:

Agree.    DJ isn’t startable outside of terrible fantasy teams shredded by injury.    
 

wally pipp happens 🤷‍♂️. Not like Diontae ever seized the role and dominated like AB did.  

 

I'll be quoting you after Sunday. Diontae is without question the WR1 on this team and will get loads of work. 

[Travis Burten 942]

1 hour ago, luckBbrady said:

This is how Hayden Winks referred to him this week: "Average talent. WR1/2 usage before Claypool popped. WR3/4"

 

The "average talent" surprised me. Suggests his previous success is only a result of the team he plays for?

 

Oh boy Hayden Winks just lost some credibility 

[Travis Burten 942]

46 minutes ago, cheezor42 said:

haha these “experts” man. Ya getting the most separation in the league your rookie year is super “average”. These cats just ride the latest hype trains like everyone else and have the memory length of about 2 weeks.  These reductive sound bites on twitter help no one really.  Healthy Diontae has a big role in this offense.

 

Finally someone who has a clear view. Sometimes I wonder if it's just 13 year olds riding the hype train posting on RW lol 

[Impreza178 6,031]

4 minutes ago, Travis Burten said:

 

I'll be quoting you after Sunday. Diontae is without question the WR1 on this team and will get loads of work. 

Hope you’re right-   Love the confidence.  Fortunately I’m not in a position to have to take the gamble.  

[Cardiak 111]

14 minutes ago, Travis Burten said:

 

Finally someone who has a clear view. Sometimes I wonder if it's just 13 year olds riding the hype train posting on RW lol 

Same here. A guy has a couple of bad games and they're quick to say how diminished his role is going forward. Peep the Henry thread after the first couple of weeks of the season. It's pretty goofy. 

[Travis Burten 942]

36 minutes ago, Impreza178 said:

situational....like....their other young wr breaking out and dominating 2 weeks in a row?   We are just going to pretend everything is the same with the Steelers wrs as before Claypool emerged?   🤔 
 

Diontae has some talent but if he’s not getting the target share,   He’s going to be risky to trust any given week.  
hold and see what happens....seems the prudent thing to do.  

 

Claypool was active the first 2 weeks that DJ was active. He was always there. 

• 2 rec, 39yds
• 3 rec, 88yds, TD

 

He's only had 1 game where he was targeted more than 4 times. One game. If he really was the dominant WR he is, why didn't he dominate while DJ was on the field? Another fun fact, DJ has 23 targets in the first 2 weeks. Claypool has 24 in 5 weeks lol 

[luckBbrady 44]

57 minutes ago, Impreza178 said:

situational....like....their other young wr breaking out and dominating 2 weeks in a row?   We are just going to pretend everything is the same with the Steelers wrs as before Claypool emerged?   🤔 
 

Diontae has some talent but if he’s not getting the target share,   He’s going to be risky to trust any given week.  
hold and see what happens....seems the prudent thing to do.  

No. Situational meaning box score doesn't reflect talent, just how a player did in a given game. Calling Diontae an average talent is not accurate. /end

[Power-O 425]

Just now, Travis Burten said:

 

Claypool was active the first 2 weeks that DJ was active. He was always there. 

• 2 rec, 39yds
• 3 rec, 88yds, TD

 

He's only had 1 game where he was targeted more than 4 times. One game. If he really was the dominant WR he is, why didn't he dominate while DJ was on the field? Another fun fact, DJ has 23 targets in the first 2 weeks. Claypool has 24 in 5 weeks lol 

 

Things change as a season progresses....thats not a fair way to analyze anything...he is a rookie that had no real offseason...it was going to take time to get him going but once they started using him more and have seen how awesome he has done they have used him in more ways...they are lining freakin claypool at TE for crying out loud lol

[Kaii23 342]

5 minutes ago, Travis Burten said:

 

Claypool was active the first 2 weeks that DJ was active. He was always there. 

• 2 rec, 39yds
• 3 rec, 88yds, TD

 

He's only had 1 game where he was targeted more than 4 times. One game. If he really was the dominant WR he is, why didn't he dominate while DJ was on the field? Another fun fact, DJ has 23 targets in the first 2 weeks. Claypool has 24 in 5 weeks lol 

In Claypool's defense, he is a rookie drafted in the 2nd round. Guys like that don't hit the ground running. There's no way that he could come in week one and outproduce Johnson. Things are different now. He's got his foot in the door. 

[Travis Burten 942]

Just now, Power-O said:

 

Things change as a season progresses....thats not a fair way to analyze anything...he is a rookie that had no real offseason...it was going to take time to get him going but once they started using him more and have seen how awesome he has done they have used him in more ways...they are lining freakin claypool at TE for crying out loud lol

 

Claypool will average 4-6 targets. He was targeted 4 times last week, and good for him for making good on all of them. If he misses those targets, could be detrimental. 

DJ has a much safer floor. Expecting around 10 targets, and has a better chance to have more receptions than Claypool does targets. 

[Cardiak 111]

So..bounce back week for DJ?

[Impreza178 6,031]

Fantastic arguments here.  Both sides

I will say...if Juju really has dropped to third in the pecking order-  there’s plenty of room for Claypool and Johnson to be weekly starts. 

[Travis Burten 942]

2 minutes ago, Kaii23 said:

In Claypool's defense, he is a rookie drafted in the 2nd round. Guys like that don't hit the ground running. There's no way that he could come in week one and outproduce Johnson. Things are different now. He's got his foot in the door. 

 

I would have expected closer to 10 targets last week

[Power-O 425]

2 minutes ago, Travis Burten said:

 

Claypool will average 4-6 targets. He was targeted 4 times last week, and good for him for making good on all of them. If he misses those targets, could be detrimental. 

DJ has a much safer floor. Expecting around 10 targets, and has a better chance to have more receptions than Claypool does targets. 

 

that game was a blow out last week...they also give him rushing yards which helps his output...i think his role is going to grow...he has been there big play guy and their robert woods type guy...it would be stupid at this point based on what he has been putting on the tape at this point...i wouldnt even count weeks 1-3 as anything regarding targets...then they had a bye...the past 2 weeks is really what you should be focusing on IMO