Steelers WR Diontae Johnson named 'player to avoid' for fantasy football

If nothing else, Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Diontae Johnson has gone through an interesting summer. 

Johnson initially elected against serving as a full participant during early training camp practices in an attempt to land a long-term deal with the Steelers but then settled on a two-year, $36.71M extension that includes $27M guaranteed and, theoretically, could allow both parties to pursue a trade as soon as next year. He was then temporarily sidelined with a hip flexor injury and has been sued for failing to appear at a May youth football camp that he reportedly agreed to host.

Even before all of that happened, the 26-year-old who finished last season with team highs of 107 catches, 169 targets, 1,161 receiving yards and eight touchdown grabs was named a player who "could disappoint" during the upcoming campaign. As things stand today, Johnson will be catching passes thrown by free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky when the games begin to matter next month, and Andrew Erickson of FantasyPros sees that as a reason why the receiver is among his "players to avoid" in fantasy football for those of you completing drafts over the next month or so. 

"I know that arguments and takes will be made as to why Trubisky is a better option at quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger was last season; it’s possible that happens," Erickson noted. "Just be aware that in Trubisky’s best season (2018) as an NFL quarterback, the Bears’ offense ranked 24th in yards per game (344) and 10th in points per game.

"The room for an improved offense is realistic, but I’m not as bullish on paying the premium price for a wide receiver like Diontae Johnson in Round 4 with so much uncertainty under center. Johnson already threaded the needle with bad quarterback play last season – finishing as the lone top-10 WR in half-point scoring on an offense that generated a negative EPA per dropback."

Erickson also pointed out that Johnson will be playing with a new quarterback who may target different weapons such as rookie George Pickens early and often this fall.