The Pittsburgh Steelers used an early third-round draft pick in 2019 that they got as part of a trade to send wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders to, essentially, draft his replacement, grabbing Diontae Johnson out of Toledo with the 66th pick.
Brown had been quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite target for the better part of the decade, establishing not just a rapport, but numbers that few other duos in NFL history have ever rivaled, including a remarkable six-year run with 100-plus receptions for 1250-plus yards and eight-plus touchdowns.
Roethlisberger and Johnson might not ever quite have that connection—frankly, they likely won’t even have that same length of time together—but now that they are finally able to get some serious playing time in with one another, we are seeing the results.