PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan)- With other wide receivers on the board like Notre Dame's Miles Boykin, a name that was loosely linked to the Steelers at #66, many Steelers fans went, "huh? who?" when Toledo wide receiver Diontae Johnson was announced.
So who is this guy?
"I think if you watch and really pay attention to where the NFL game is going, whether it's major college football or it's the National Football League, I don't see too many guys that just run past people," said Candle. "So I think you're looking for guys who can really do some damage in a 20-yard window and create separation at the line of scrimmage and certainly win at the top of the route. I think those are two of his very strong characteristics."
"I think he's got a mind for football, he's got an eagerness and a willingness to learn, he's going to be, I think, a good teammate and a guy that will go into a locker room, fit in, work really hard, shut his mouth and do what he needs to do."
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Candle says don't let the fact that he's coming out of the MAC fool you on what he is capable of doing.
"Turn the video tape on and watch it, I mean the guy had two 100-yard games against Miami, Florida and two touchdowns in both of those games. I saw three of those defensive backs get drafted this weekend so I don't know if you can get better competition than that," said Candle. "There was two corners drafted from Central Michigan in this draft, he played against a guy in practice every day in Ka'dar Hollman who was drafted in the 6th round by the Green Bay Packers so I don't think that competition or playing against fast guys is something that will intimidate this guy."
Candle said that coming all the way from Florida to play at Toledo, and especially playing right away as a fresman. really matured Johnson.
Post-Gazette Steelers writer Ray Fittipaldo joined The Fan Morning Show as well to talk about Johnson and dropped an interesting nugget about how he was valued by other teams, despite not being as high on experts' draft boards heading in.
"[Steelers receivers coach] Darryl Drake was asked that question and I think it was the Buccaneers who were right after the Steelers at #67 and Drake said (Bucs head coach) Bruce Arians called him out and cussed him out because that was Bruce's guy. Bruce was apparently going to take Diontae Johnson with that next pick," said Fittipaldo. "Higher on the NFL draft boards than maybe on some of the so-called draft analyst's boards."
"I did watch some video of the guy, he does have a knack for getting open, he's very good at catching the ball. It's just a matter of [whether] his play speed plays in the NFL. He didn't time great at the combine, he's only like a 4.53 guy. For him to be successful in the NFL he's going to have to be like Antonio Brown and he's going to have to play faster than his time suggests."
Being in the MAC, Candle also faced other Steelers' draft picks like their first 6th round pick defensive end Sutton Smith of Northern Illinois...
"Explosive player. A guy that was an undersized edge rusher in our conference. A guy that you had to account for at all times. Two years ago when we beat Northern Illinois and ultimately went on to win the conference championship, we did a great job of controlling him. This year we lost to Northern Illinois and I thought he had a couple game-changing plays in there. He blocks a punt against us that gets returned for a touchdown and he gets a sack-fumble in that game, two critical moments. It's just a guy you had to account for at all times off the edge and I think will add a lot of special teams value. He's a guy that plays really, really hard and guys like that that have a grittyness and a toughness to them, those guys always make it and always end up lasting."
And what about another 6th round pick Akron linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III?
"Love that guy. Love his effort. Love the skill set he has. Another one of those guys on defense that you had to know where he was. I thought he was strong at the point of attack but really the biggest attribute I thought he had was the ability to run and chase plays down."