CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Andy Dalton and Diontae Johnson crossed paths for one year in the NFC North in Dalton’s final year in Cincinnati. So Dalton knows the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver’s reputation for letting his quarterback know when he’s not getting the ball enough.
But Dalton hasn’t experienced that yet from Johnson, and for good reason.
“I feel like I gave him plenty of opportunity out there,” Dalton said with a laugh.
In his first game after replacing Bryce Young as the Carolina Panthers starter, Dalton targeted Johnson 14 times during Sunday’s 36-22 win at Las Vegas. Johnson finished with eight catches for a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown — one of three first-half scoring strikes by the 36-year-old Dalton.
Johnson’s 14 targets were tied with Rashee Rice for the most for any receiver in Week 3, while his receiving yardage trailed only Jauan Jennings (175) and Dallas Goedert (170). And Dalton likely will be looking to Johnson even more over the next month: Adam Thielen, the Panthers’ leading receiver last season, is out at least four weeks after injuring his hamstring against the Raiders.
“There’s a reason we brought him here. He knows how to get open,” Dalton said. “And when you know how to get open and I can make quick decisions, get the ball out of my hands and let him go do something with it.”
When Dalton and Thielen combined for a big game last year at Seattle in Dalton’s only other start for the Panthers, Young referred to their connection as “dad ball.” No one is known to have coined anything yet to describe the Dalton-Johnson hookup, despite their shared roots in the NFL’s Rust Belt division.
“An old Bengal and Steeler just working together,” Dalton said. “You don’t hear that often.”
After the Panthers acquired Johnson in a trade for cornerback Donte Jackson plus a swap of late-round picks, Johnson said his role was to help Young. An accomplished route runner, Johnson’s ability to separate would help get the ball out of Young’s hands quickly.
But when Young regressed in his first two starts — one-sided losses to the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers — first-year coach Dave Canales wasted no time benching Young and naming Dalton the Week 3 starter. And Dalton wasted no time finding a rhythm with the 5-10, 183-pound Johnson.
Echoing his post-game comments, Johnson said Wednesday that Dalton’s experience energized him.
“I knew Andy could throw the ball. I played against Andy when he was in Cincinnati, so I was kind of familiar with his game,” he said. “It’s just once I got out there, you felt that vet presence in the huddle and that command. And as a player, being around a quarterback that you’ve been around before, when it comes to that experience, it makes you go harder and know what to expect and know what you’re getting from a veteran like that.”
Dalton developed a quick connection with Johnson despite not throwing much to him in the preseason (when Dalton worked a lot with the second-team wideouts) or the first two weeks of the regular season (when Dalton ran the scout-team offense).
“This is a real challenge, to come into a situation where most of your reps haven’t gone to Diontae,” Canales said. “But both of those guys are experienced players who are very serious about the game plan, about working through the nuances of the routes, all the way through the plan.
“So that was a full week process, all the way through Saturday, of talking. On game day, talking (and) having those conversations on the sideline. So just a great job by those two guys to find good work together.”
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With Thielen out, Johnson likely will be more of the focal point for opposing defenses, starting this week against Dalton’s former Bengals team. Canales said other wideouts like Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo and David Moore need to step up in Thielen’s absence.
Legette, the first-round pick from South Carolina, hasn’t been around Johnson long, but is impressed with his “suddenness” at the snap of the ball.
“Everything you see him put on display for the game,” Legette said, “that’s something he does every day in practice.”
The Panthers did not give Johnson a new contract after trading for him, and the 28-year-old has said he’s motivated to produce so he can cash in on an exploding wide receiver market. Dalton also is in a contract year, making the relationship between the “old Bengal and Steeler” the potential to be a mutually beneficial one.
“I didn’t even know that,” Johnson said of Dalton’s contract status. “So I guess me helping him, he helping me — that can go a long way. Just feeding off each other, making each other look good out there.”
“That’s the business of it,” added Dalton, who was the first QB this year to pass for 300 yards and three TDs in a game. “The best thing we can do is keep playing the way we did and everything else will take care of itself. You can think about the future all you want. But you’re not there yet. So focus on the day to day. If we continue to do that, good things will happen for us.”
(Top photo of Diontae Johnson: Ian Maule / Getty Images)
