Cole's Fantasy Corner: Diontae Johnson is someone you want on your fantasy team

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Welcome to another addition of Cole’s Fantasy Corner. It's an exciting time because we are now less than a week away from the first official football Sunday. This Sunday will easily be one of the best days of the year, and if your fantasy team gets off to a 1-0 start that’s an added bonus. I’m sure many of you already have teams, and if you don’t then this piece might be helpful, or if you already have a team; you may want to ponder getting this player if you don’t have him. In this edition, I will explain why Diontae Johnson is someone you should want on your fantasy team this year.

This year, Johnson is the second highest acclaimed Steeler, being drafted behind Najee Harris and rightfully so. His ADP is 51, which means he’s a fourth or fifth rounder in a 10 or 12 person league. The main concern about Johnson is the talent around him. Obviously the Steelers have Juju Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool as the other receivers and people are concerned that the targets will get split evenly between the three. The other fear is that the Steelers will go run heavy with Harris, which could be a concern. However, a lot of that I think is overblown and the proof is in the pudding.

Pro Football Focus has the Steelers as the 31st ranked offensive line, which is really, really bad. If they intend to run the ball with Harris, then it could prove to be unsuccessful without a good offensive line. When it comes to receiving, Johnson led the team in targets with 144 last season. Considering the talent around him - Juju and Chase Claypool - 144 targets is by no means a lackluster number, ranking 8th in the league. If the Steelers are going to heavily rely on passing because the line isn’t any good, then Johnson is the receiver that will get the easy receptions that will result in lots of points for your fantasy team. I think Johnson and Claypool are the best receivers on the team, so they’ll be the ones to get the majority of the targets, with Johnson leading the way.

I’m certainly not saying you need to reach for Johnson because there are plenty of better players you can take before him, but if he’s there and you feel like your guys are off the board, take him. If you’re a firm believer in trades and you think you can get a good deal for him, then I would consider pulling the trigger. There’s serious potential for Johnson to have a big year and if he does, he will be drafted much earlier next year and your window of opportunity to draft him in the middle rounds will shut.