Steelers News: Diontae Johnson just the next in long line of great Steelers draft finds?

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take at whether Dionate Johnson is just the latest in a long line of Pittsburgh Steelers finds in the NFL Draft?

Let’s get to the news:

• Whether you are talking about his punt return capabilities, or his team high 5 touchdowns in 2019. Dionate Johnson is here to stay...

Diontae Johnson confident he showed Steelers made wise 3rd-round investment in him

By: Chris Adamski, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

A second-team All-Pro as a rookie? Even if it wasn’t at his given position, that’s a good start.

Eyebrows were raised in April when the Pittsburgh Steelers used their pick at the top of the third round on Diontae Johnson, a smallish wide receiver from Toledo.

By January, though, Johnson had finished his rookie season as the Steelers’ leader in receptions, and only James Conner would end up with more touchdowns. Johnson also would be recognized as second-team All-Pro as a punt returner by the Associated Press.

Was that enough for the 5-foot-10 Johnson to prove he has a bright future in the NFL?

“Most definitely,” Johnson said on the day the Steelers’ season ended. “You see what I did throughout the year. I made plays, and I showed I can be consistent — even also on punt returns I didn’t get back there until late (in the season).

“I’m just trying to top it off into 2020. I am trying to come back even better and showing it.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• The NFL is turning their attention to the young guns at QB.

John Steigerwald: Super Bowl matchup proves NFL now belongs to young QBs

By: John Steigerwald, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The old guys are staying home.

There will be no grizzled veteran quarterback in the Super Bowl this year. Patrick Mahomes, 24, will go to Miami in two weeks with the Kansas City Chiefs, and 28-year-old Jimmy Garoppolo will be there with the San Francisco 49ers.

Tom Brady, 43, Drew Brees, 40, Aaron Rodgers, 36 and Russell Wilson, 31, were knocked out. Even Wilson no longer is considered one of the young guys.

Eli Manning, 39, Philip Rivers, 38, and Ben Roethlisberger, 38, didn’t make the playoffs this year. But Deshaun Watson, 24, Lamar Jackson, 23, Josh Allen, 23, Mahomes and Garoppolo did.

Roethlisberger didn’t make it because of arm trouble, but arm trouble is part of being an old quarterback.

The prevailing notion in these parts has been that the Steelers will be contenders again next season when Roethlisberger returns. But is that optimism warranted?

All of a sudden, the NFL belongs to young quarterbacks. Is the fate of the franchise depending on a 38-year-old quarterback coming off elbow surgery a good thing?

Roethlisberger hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016 and is 5-6 in his last 11 starts. With the exception of Brady, the old guys haven’t been that great in the postseason.

Brees is 4-6 in his last 10.

Rivers has three playoff wins in the last 10 years.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Tony Dungy chimes in on the Rooney Rule, and what needs to change about how the league is handling it.

Tony Dungy talks Rooney Rule evolution and more

By: Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

Over the weekend, Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy addressed in an item posted at PFT the current challenges facing the NFL’s the Rooney Rule, along with his ideas for its evolution. On Monday morning, Dungy joined me to discuss the situation in further detail.

The full conversation appears in the attached video. The biggest takeaway is that Dungy believes owners need to be encouraged to take more time when considering potential candidates and that, if they do, the hirings of coaches will better reflect the longstanding demographics of the NFL’s players.

For now, the percentages are stunning, with more than 70 percent of the players being minorities but only four of the 32 coaches (three are African-American). The current distribution of minority coaches has regressed in recent years, matching levels that were in place when the league first promulgated the Rooney Rule a generation ago.

As Dungy explained, it’s not about quotas or forcing teams to interview people. It’s about owners taking more time to engage in searches that often get rushed and, given the amount of turnover in the NFL, botched.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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