MINNEAPOLIS -- The term No. 1 receiver gets thrown around a lot. And technically, there are 32 No. 1 receivers in the NFL, one on each team.
But in reality, while there are No. 1 receivers on each team across the NFL, there are receivers who happen to be the top guy at the position on their respective team, and then there are the handful of players who would be the top receiver on just about any team.
Yet when the top wide receivers in the league are spoken about, the Steelers' Diontae Johnson is not just rarely mentioned, he's never talked about in that fashion.
"You know when you make plays and you’re being consistent but you’re not being talked about a lot, it’s part of of the game," the Steelers' third-year wide receiver told me. "They’ll wake up sooner or later. I can’t knock those other guys. They’ve been in the league and have been doing it a long time. I can’t do nothing but try to get to that level. I still feel like I haven’t reach my peak. I’m growing and learning every day, trying to pick up new things. Baby steps, that’s how I’m taking it. I’m not trying to cheat the process."
He might not be trying to cheat the process, but the fact remains that many are missing what a great season Johnson is having. Currently, Bengals rookie Ja'Marr Chase leads AFC Pro Bowl voting at the wide receiver position. Johnson isn't even in the top 10. Chase has 55 catches for 958 yards and eight touchdowns. Johnson is at 76 receptions for 914 yards and six touchdowns -- despite missing a game.
The Steelers haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster both eclipsed that mark in 2018. Johnson also is on pace for 113 receptions, a mark that would be third-highest in team history.
He's truly become a No. 1 receiver.
"Yeah. I feel like that," Johnson said. "But I’m saying that as humble as possible. I say that just because of how I’ve been playing. The consistency I’ve been playing with. I feel like I’m a No. 1 receiver. I’m just going to lead by example with my play."
Despite his strong play, the thing most referred to when people mention Johnson is his issue with drops. Though he caught 88 passes last season, he also led the NFL in dropped passes. It reached a crescendo in Buffalo late last season when he dropped two passes early in a loss to the Bills and was benched for the remainder of the half.
Johnson now admits the drop issue got into his head. He began thinking too much on the field. So during the offseason, he began working with equipment assistant Lou Balde every day with tennis balls as well as footballs. He catches hundreds if not thousands per week before and after practice. And they come at all angles and levels.
"I can’t think of the number," Johnson said when I asked him to estimate how many extra passes he's caught since OTAs started. "I’ve got to do it. Now, when I see the ball, it’s just me and the ball. I feel like nobody can cover me when I see the ball in the air. That’s how natural it is. I’m more comfortable out there. I’m not timid. I’m just relaxed when the ball is in the air."
The extra work is catching on. Fellow receivers Chase Claypool and Cody White often spend time catching passes well after practice has ended. So has safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
"He actually inspired me to do extra work after practice," Fitzpatrick said. "He catches probably 100 extra passes and then he catches with the tennis balls. I started doing the same thing. I was struggling catching earlier this year. I feel like he’s helped me tremendously, too, and he challenged me to take that extra step for sure."
Johnson isn't a vocal leader. He's not much of a talker, even on the field.
But the 25-year-old said fatherhood has driven home the point that you have to lead by example.
"I’m just more comfortable out there. I’m trying to be a good leader, father to my son (Cree)," Johnson said. "He’s the reason I go so hard. I know he watches everything I do. I’ve got to lead by example. He gives me something to play for. It’s not just about me."
Perhaps soon the rest of the league will take notice as much as fantasy football players have. Johnson has become a darling of the fantasy football world thanks to his consistency. Going into Thursday night's game against the Vikings Johnson had at least five receptions, a touchdown or 50 receiving yards in every game this season.
"People tell me, ‘Man, you won me my fantasy game,’ and stuff like that. I just make my plays and continue to get better," Johnson said. "That’s all I care about, making plays and helping the team win. Everybody wants to be in that spotlight, but I’m not worried about that. I’m just going to keep doing what I need to do and be where they need me to be. I’m trying to keep that consistency going and win some games. The rest will come."
MORE STEELERS
• Some saw the Steelers' signing of punter Drue Chrisman to the practice squad Wednesday as a shot across the bow of rookie Pressley Harvin. But the reality is that at this point in the season, the Steelers were looking to cover themselves with specialists just in case they have a COVID-19 issue. The Steelers also signed long-snapper Rex Sunahara after a tryout Wednesday, while placekicker Sam Sloman is on the practice squad, as well. The Browns found out Thursday that punter Jamie Gillan was going on the Reserve/COVID-19 List and will miss Sunday's game against the Ravens. Now, they're scrambling to find a punter to take Gillian's place Sunday. That's why the Steelers have a potential replacement for all three specialists on the practice squad. If something happens, at least they'll have a player available who they have been working with who can handle the duties. Harvin has been inconsistent this season, but the Steelers aren't thinking about replacing him with Chrisman. -- Lolley
• Keith Butler has been a harbinger of truth this season, essentially telling it like it is time and again when it comes to different situations. That's why his explanation as to why Ahkello Witherspoon wasn't playing at all earlier this season after the Steelers acquired him from the Seahawks for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick made the most sense. While Witherspoon isn't the special teams player James Pierre or Justin Layne happen to be, he's shown to be a better cornerback. But ... "He probably hasn’t been urgent enough. He’s starting to get that now. You’ve got to be able to play with a sense of urgency when you’re playing corner in this league because guys can run by you," Butler said. So, it was that? "Yes, that, and learning our defense," Butler continued. "He’s a smart guy. It didn’t take him long to learn the defense. But playing with a sense of urgency does matter. We put him out there and he played well." The trade from the Seahawks, who had signed him as a restricted free agent to a one-year, $4-million deal, was probably a shock to Witherspoon. He also became a father soon after joining the Steelers, so that probably was distracting, as well. But there's a good chance he's working his way into the team's long-term plans now. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• The Penguins like to think of themselves as a resilient group, and when they're healthy (OK, so that doesn't often make it past the theoretical stage), they have the personnel to wipe out even a multi-goal deficit in a matter of minutes. And while every team obviously prefers to play with a lead -- the objective of the game, after all, is to outscore the other guys -- the results of the Penguins' first 25 games suggest that it's almost imperative that they avoid having to play from behind. They have scored first in 11 of their 12 victories -- their 11-1 record when opening the scoring is a .917 winning percentage that ranks fourth in the NHL -- but are just 1-7-5 when their opponent gets the first goal. What's more, they are 11-0-1 when they're ahead after two periods, but just 0-7-2 when behind at the second intermission. With two of their top offensive talents, Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin, unavailable for at least a little while, it figures to be even tougher for the Penguins to take points out of games in which they are forced to play from behind. That, in turn, makes it critical that they get consistently strong goaltending, limit the number of power plays they give to other teams (even though the Penguins' penalty-killing has been the most efficient in the league for much of this season) and avoid defensive lapses that allow opponents to get odd-man breaks or uncontested chances from high-risk scoring areas. -- Dave Molinari
• The NHL season is a little more than two months old, which means it has reached the point at which teams begin to fire coaches whose clubs are off to a disappointing start. It was no surprise, then, that the Flyers dismissed Alain Vigneault and the Canucks jettisoned Travis Green this week. Indeed, Sunday will be the sixth anniversary of the Penguins' most recent coaching change, as Mike Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston on Dec. 12, 2015. NHL coaches tend to have a shelf life just slightly longer than that of raw milk -- Johnston, for example, lasted just 110 games behind the Penguins' bench -- so it's significant that even as his tenure is in the final few days of his fifth calendar year on the job, Sullivan still commands the attention of his players, has them buying into the way he wants them to play. Many -- probably most, really -- coaches have players begin to tune them out long before before they've been on the job as long as Sullivan has, as evidenced by the fact that he's been with his team longer than any coaches except Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper, Paul Maurice of Winnipeg and Detroit's Jeff Blashill. With the Penguins having lost four consecutive playoff series, there will be pressure on Sullivan next spring to lead them on a bit of a run during the postseason (assuming they qualify, of course), but if that doesn't happen, it probably won't be because he's lost the attention of his players, which is no small accomplishment in itself. -- Molinari
• The Penguins don't have an in-kind replacement for Guentzel, someone they can plug into the top line who can reasonably be expected to rack up a 13-game points streak and seven goals in four games, the way Guentzel did before he appeared to injure his right hand blocking a shot in Seattle Monday. They do, however, have a couple of wingers who are capable of scoring more often than they have this season, and who absolutely should be expected to help make up for some of the offense lost while Guentzel heals. Jason Zucker has one goal in the past 19 games and Kasperi Kapanen has one in the past 12, during which time his uninspired play earned a demotion from the second line to the third and, ultimately, the fourth. Nonetheless, Kapanen is the apparent choice to fill the first-line niche opened by Guentzel's injury, and he has the ability to do it well if he plays with the vigor and confidence that his speed and skill should generate; all too often, though, Kapanen has done things like pull up short when carrying the puck in the other team's end, rather than attacking the net. That kind of passivity won't cut it if he's going to help to compensate for Guentzel's absence. Zucker is fearless, and there's no question about his willingness to operate in high-traffic areas, but a top-six winger with a $5.5 million salary-cap hit has to score a lot more than Zucker has to justify his pay and prominent place in the lineup. If the Penguins can't get more from either (or both) under these circumstances, it's fair to wonder whether they merit a long-term place in the franchise's plans. -- Molinari
PIRATES
• Pirates bench coach Don Kelly has reportedly withdrawn his name from consideration for the Mets manager job, but it’s not surprising that he was considered for the position. Not just because he’s a solid future manager candidate because of his background as a player, coach, stint in player development and that he has Jim Leyland, who he played for in Detroit, in his corner, but because the Mets like Derek Shelton. Shelton interviewed for the Mets manager job in 2019, but they went with Carlos Beltran. That didn't last for long though, as they let him go once he was tied to the Astros cheating scandal. By that point Shelton was a Pirate, and based on a conversation I had with a Mets exec during my trip to Citi Field in July, it sounded like they would have rather had Shelton than then-manager Luis Rojas. Kelly, Shelton’s bench coach, would be the closest thing they could get to a Shelton-type hire, if that’s what the Mets wanted. Alas, it sounds like it’s over and Kelly will return to his bench coach duties while inheriting infield instruction duties from former third base coach Joey Cora. -- Alex Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• I got some more team insight on the Jacob Stallings trade, and frankly, it might come down to Kyle Nicolas, the 22-year-old Class AA right-hander. The Pirates view him as a starter internally and they are going to give him every chance to prove that he can be one. Shortly after the trade, I had an analyst from a National League club tell me they think he is a future reliever, even if they thought the slider was a plus pitch. If Nicolas does prove to be a major league starter – and you may as well include Zach Thompson, the other pitcher they got in that trade in this mix too – then the trade makes more sense. But those are big ifs. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• Chatting with players at the pitching development camp here in Pirate City, it’s interesting to hear so many talk about the freedom they have with drill work. There’s collaboration with coaches, of course, but if players want to focus on a certain aspect in their mechanics or getting extra velocity, the ball is in their court. Very on-brand for pitching coordinator Josh Hopper. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• The Class Low-A Bradenton Marauders won their league championship this year. They’re going to get rings for it. Nice gesture for a team that made sure to emphasize winning games in the minors more than many other franchises. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.