The Pittsburgh Steelers face the San Francisco 49ers at home in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. Fifth-year wideout Diontae Johnson is gearing up for that matchup against arguably the NFL's best defense. He discussed his approach to his route-running, which he prides himself on, with Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. For Johnson, it starts with having a plan.

“It's about having a plan at the line,” Johnson said. “That's [what] I feel like I do a really good job at. Having two releases: a go-to, and a backup release in case he don't react to the first one.”

But there's also more to it than winning the release. The key to successfully separating is at the top of the route. “Where I win is at the top of the route. That's where I win at, that separation,” Johnson said. “A lot of people are not as quick as me. So I can kind of do something on the route to set him up and get him to move in a certain way that I want him to, and then break out or whatever it is.”

Separation is the name of the game for wide receivers. Today, there are advanced analytics and metrics that evaluate how good individual players are at separating. Diontae Johnson goes into every route with a plan and a backup plan. If he doesn't win the route at the first point of separation, he has another chance at the top of the route.

Johnson is good at getting open, but he needs to work on finishing the play. He had seven drops in 2022, which is better than the 13 he had in 2020, but it isn't good. His catch percentage of 58.5% ranked 163rd in the NFL last season.

Johnson headlines a receiving corps of George Pickens and Allen Robinson. These three will work with second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett as the Steelers aim to get back to the playoffs.