The Steelers only have five wide receivers currently active on their 53-man roster, so when Diontae Johnson sat out practice Thursday with a foot issue, it raised some alarms.
Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a false one, as Johnson returned to practice Friday as a full participant as the Steelers continued their practices for their regular season opener Monday night against the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Though All-Pro guard David DeCastro missed practice again Friday with a knee injury and is looking doubtful to play against the Giants, Johnson, who led the Steelers with 59 receptions as a rookie, should be good go.
"He means a lot," said fellow wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. "You're talking about a guy that can play inside or outside. He's a huge asset to our offense moving forward."
Despite lacking in some star power at the position, the Steelers have high hopes for all of their receivers this season with the return of Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was limited to just six quarters in 2019 because of three torn flexor tendons in his throwing elbow.
Without Roethlisberger last season, the Steelers saw the biggest decline in NFL history in passing yards from one season to the next, falling from 313 yards per game in 2018, when Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing, to 186.3 yards per game last season. With Roethlisberger back, even at 38, there is an expectation the team's passing game should take off again in 2020.
Smith-Schuster, who suffered through an injury-plagued season himself a year ago, saw his production decrease from 111 catches and more than 1,400 receiving yards in 2018 to 42 catches for 552 yards as he appeared in 12 games. But that allowed Johnson and third-year pro James Washington to emerge. Johnson led the team in receptions, while Washington led in receiving yards with 735.
The Steelers added talented rookie Chase Claypool to the mix this year, as well, giving them four receivers taken in the last four drafts. All but Johnson was a second round draft pick, and Johnson was taken with the second pick of the third round in 2019.
It could cause some headaches for opposing teams. While last season, Smith-Schuster went into the year as the unquestioned No. 1 guy, there are now questions about who to key on for opposing defenses.
The Giants, who have essentially turned over every stone to find cornerbacks this season, might not be in the best shape to match up against the Steelers' top four guys, regardless.
The team added James Bradberry as a free agent to help offset the loss of 2019 first-round pick DeAndre Baker, who was released earlier this week following his offseason arrest for armed robbery. And while Bradberry is solid at one spot, the other starter will be 2019 sixth-round draft choice Corey Ballentine, though head coach Joe Judge said this week the team could rotate players opposite Bradberry. Veterans Logan Ryan, Isaac Yiadom and Brandon Williams were all added in the past two weeks and are expected to play big roles, as well.
Having brand new defensive backs all over the field, could cause some issues for the Giants.
"We're talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers coming into town. Ben Roethlisberger, he has a bunch of wide receivers, think about how many defensive backs we are going to need out on that field," said Giants first-year defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. "I don't know if there is one spot. We can't think about the traditional two corner deal. They have speed all over that field, all those guys. A matchup against these guys is hard because of all the speed they have on the field. All the wide receivers potentially, the backs are fast who play like receivers. It's going to be tough, it's going to be a competitive situation."
And Graham felt that way before seeing Claypool take an NFL snap. The 6-foot-4, 238-pound rookie ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and was one of the stars of the Steelers' training camp.
"All he has to do is go out there and dominate," Smith-Schuster said. "He's 6-4, 230 pounds. He has the size and speed to go down the field and be a threat. Each of the last four years, we've drafted wide receivers and we have pretty much had to come in and play in our rookie years. That's what we want to see. We think he can be a huge factor for this offense."