Diontae Johnson’s NFL profession took a improper flip final yr. Nevertheless, earlier than that, he was a strong participant for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 5 seasons there, he recorded 4,363 receiving yards and scored 25 touchdowns, making one Professional Bowl. For a third-round choose, that’s nice manufacturing. Just lately, Johnson mirrored on how he ended up with the Steelers, giving numerous credit score to Darryl Drake, their former extensive receivers coach.
“All you want is one coach to love you,” Johnson stated not too long ago on the YouTube channel Sport and Fits. “Darryl Drake from the Pittsburgh Steelers, relaxation in peace, that was my man. He noticed me on the Professional Day. We sat down till like 12 o’clock the night time earlier than my Professional Day, simply speaking, chopping it up. Me, him, and the particular groups coach, Danny Smith… As soon as I met them, I knew, I felt like I used to be gonna go there.”
The Steelers employed Drake in 2018, however sadly, he handed away all of a sudden in 2019 whereas the Steelers have been at coaching camp. It got here as an enormous shock, and it critically affected many throughout the Steelers’ group.
That season was additionally Johnson’s rookie yr. He’s talked up to now about how Drake was an enormous affect on him, even of their brief time collectively. That speaks to what a deep bond that they had. Due to this fact, it’s no shock to listen to that they hit it off immediately at Johnson’s Professional Day.
Johnson performed nicely with the Steelers, however now, his NFL profession is at risk. Pittsburgh traded him to the Carolina Panthers final yr, and whereas he was high-quality there, if a bit underwhelming, his worth actually took successful with the Baltimore Ravens. Johnson solely recorded one catch in 4 video games with the Ravens, after which he refused to enter a sport, getting suspended because of this.
After that, the Ravens waived Johnson, and he ended up with the Houston Texans. There, he noticed simply as little success, and this offseason, he struggled to discover a new group.
Johnson is now a member of the Cleveland Browns, so he’ll have an opportunity to face the Steelers twice this season. He’s seeking to rebuild his profession and show that he can nonetheless be a top quality participant. Drake helped give him his begin, nevertheless it’s as much as Johnson now to find out the place his story will go.
