Johnson on target for breakout in 2021 for Steelers taken at Heinz Field (NFL)

EDDIE PROVIDENT / DKPS

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson at Steelers training camp practice Monday at Heinz Field.

There were just three receivers in the NFL in 2020 who had 10 games in which they were targeted with at least 10 passes.

The Packers' Davante Adams was one. Keenan Allen of the Chargers, two. The third was the Steelers' Diontae Johnson.

That's why questions of who the Steelers' No. 1 receiver happens to be are somewhat moot. When Johnson was on the field in 2020, he was Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target. And it wasn't really all that close, despite the presence of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool.

Johnson finished his second NFL season with 144 total targets. The only receivers with more were the aforementioned Adams, Allen, Stephon Diggs of the Bills and DeAndre Hopkins of the Cardinals.

All are considered true No. 1 receivers on their respective teams, something Johnson considers himself.

"Yeah, in my opinion, but we’ve got great receivers on this team," Johnson said Monday as the Steelers wrapped up their 11th training camp practice here at Heinz Field. "I try not to think about stuff like that. I’m just doing my job. If I get open, Ben (Roethlisberger) is going to look my way. We’re all going to eat."

They might all eat, but some more than others.

And with Matt Canada now calling the offense and a demand from owner Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin to run the ball better in 2021, the receiving pie might not be nearly as big.

But as Johnson showed in 2020, when he was on the field, he was clearly Roethlisberger's favorite target. If not for missing parts of two games with injuries and another late in the season when he was benched after dropping some passes early in a loss to the Bills, Johnson might have led the NFL in targets.

He's certainly got the trust of Roethlisberger.

"It shows a lot," Johnson said of the trust Roethlisberger has shown in him. "It’s just football at the end of the day. People are going to drop the ball. It shows that he still trusts me and he’s going to come my way no matter what. I have to keep my head into the game and know what I’m doing at all times. He’s been doing that in practice and I haven’t been dropping the ball."

Yeah, about those drops. Johnson suffered through a case of the drops late last season when it just seemed to get into his head, resulting with him getting benched against the Bills for most of the first half.

He wound up leading the NFL in drops a year ago with 15. But high-volume receivers typically do lead the league in that ignominious stat. Julian Edelman and Wes Welker are among the players who have led the league in drops in previous years.

Johnson has been working hard to eliminate that part of his game. He caught 88 passes for 923 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020 and knows that if he doesn't drop as many passes, a big season could await.

So, he's been on the field throughout the offseason and training camp early, working with equipment assistant Lou Balde on catching passes thrown all over the place in relationship to his body. High, low, inside, outside, it doesn't matter. Johnson first looks the ball into his hands and then makes a move to take advantage of his exceptional shiftiness.

"A lot of times you don’t know where the defender is, so I’m trying to get the ball and do what I can do, which is make the defender miss," Johnson said. "This year I’ve been focusing on catching it first, moving second. I’ve been slowing down in practice."

That, and a completely healthy Roethlisberger, could mean big things in 2021.

Johnson, like most of the Steelers, has heard the talk that Roethlisberger doesn't have it any longer when it comes to arm strength.

He disagrees.

"People who are saying that are crazy," Johnson said. "They’re not out here with Big Ben, so they can’t really say. Personally, I’m out there with him. He still has it. He’s still got it. He’s showing in practice, deep, short, intermediate throws, he still has it."

Now, Johnson just has to catch it.

Minkah Fitzpatrick isn't much of a video game player, but he did see his rating on Madden. And he's not particularly happy with it.

Fitzpatrick, a first-team All-Pro in each of the past two seasons since joining the Steelers, was ranked 10th among safeties this year by the popular sports game with an 89 overall score.

That was behind Tyrann Mathieu (95), Budda Baker (93), Devin McCourty (92), Jessie Bates (91), Justin Simmons (91), Harrison Smith (90), Jamal Adams (90) and tied with Adrian Amos (89) and Eddie Jackson (89).

"Man, I’m not a big Madden player because I tried playing video games and always got my butt whooped," Fitzpatrick told me when I asked him about it. "I’m not happy about it, but I’m not going to make a fuss about it."

But is it a little disrespectful?

"More than a little," he replied.

• The Steelers closed out practice with a goal-line drill with live tackling.

Najee Harris got into the end zone on his first attempt, following Derek Watt through a hole off right guard behind Kendrick Green and Trai Turner.

But he was stopped in the backfield on his second attempt, as Devin Bush shot through the line from the left side and slowed him up enough for fellow inside linebacker Robert Spillane to come in and clean things up.

On the offense's third shot from the goal, Mason Rudolph, who quarterbacked the first two snaps, ran a play-action pass to Claypool that was low but catchable right over the middle.

Dwayne Haskins took over from there and the offense scored on a run by Kalen Ballage, who was running more second-team in this practice after Benny Snell missed the session, before Haskins got immediate pressure from the outside on the final attempt and threw well short of running back Jaylen Samuels in the flat on the final attempt.

The middle of that line could be very powerful once Kevin Dotson returns at left guard. It won't be built on athleticism as much as it will be simply mashing people.

• Somebody might want to keep Cam Heyward and rookie Dan Moore Jr. away from each other.

In team run, Heyward and Moore got into it for the third time in this camp when Moore and Green had a combo block on Heyward that Heyward apparently felt was a little too exuberant.

Moore, again, isn't afraid to mix it up. He still needs to continue to work on his technique, especially against an outside speed rush. But the nastiness is there.

• After getting knocked around a little on Saturday, the offensive line seemed to show up a little better in the live running drills today. Harris had runs of 5, 8 and 2 yards in live running drills. And the offense also caught the defense by surprise with a pass to Watt down the sideline mixed in there.

Watt was lined up as an H-back and got down the sideline for about a 30-yard gain.

Then, Ballage had a couple of nice runs, as well. He's having a really good camp, and it should be interesting to see how he runs in the games, especially if Snell misses time.

"He’s being looked at," Tomlin said of Snell. "Maybe I’ll have an update for you when I determine the severity or the lack of severity of it."

• Tomlin got a little testy with reporters and let slip that Terrell Edmunds had offseason surgery this year on his shoulder.

That was kind of assumed after Edmunds missed some time late last offseason with a shoulder injury and was then held out of contact drills throughout this camp. But it's the first time Tomlin has acknowledged it.

• As I noted in the live file, the offensive linemen who have been sitting out -- Chuks Okorafor, Zach Banner and Kevin Dotson -- all were in pads today. But Banner was the only one who did any 11-on-11 work. And even that was light.

I would expect them to start ramping things up this weekend when the Steelers return from Canton, Ohio.

Anthony McFarland's speed in one-on-one tackling drills isn't fair to the defenders. It's pretty special.

• Green had the block of the day in individuals, planting Isaiah Buggs on his back. But this came after two reps against Tyson Alualu in which the veteran beat him with a swim move at the snap and then powered him back into the QB on the second play.

The rookie is at his best moving forward.

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