Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson told reporters he sustained a groin injury in Week 2 last year.
"I was running and it felt like my groin got a little tight on me,” Johnson said. He underwent a sports-hernia procedure earlier this offseason, but Johnson hadn't mentioned anything about playing through the injury for almost all of his rookie season. Johnson added that he's hoping to receive full medical clearance "in the next couple days." Despite the injury, last year's second-round pick still led the Steelers in targets (92), catches (59), and receiving scores (5). The return of Ben Roethlisberger and a fully healthy groin should lead to a leap forward for Johnson in his second season.
Johnson is the WR37 in numberFire's preseason fantasy rankings. Our models project him for 98.3 targets, 62.9 receptions, 803.4 yards, and 5.3 touchdowns. He only had a 9.5-yard average depth of target as a rookie, but Big Ben should help boost that up.
Source: Brooke Pryor, ESPN