The Colts prospect interviews are finishing up

as we approach the NFL Draft this week. Today’s player interview is Toledo wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The Colts could use a slot receiver along..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteStampede Bluean Indianapolis Colts communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsColtsShopAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Colts StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Colts NewsYahoo Colts Team PageYahoo Colts ReportYahoo Colts Depth ChartYahoo Colts TransactionsYahoo Colts PhotosShop About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Filed under:Colts AnalysisInterviewsNFL DraftColts Prospect Interviews: Toledo Wide Receiver Diontae JohnsonNew Eric Ebron Jersey ,4commentsEDTShareTweetShareShareColts Prospect Interviews: Toledo Wide Receiver Diontae JohnsonPhoto by Justin Casterline/Getty ImagesThe Colts prospect interviews are finishing up as we approach the NFL Draft this week. Today’s player interview is Toledo wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The Colts could use a slot receiver along with a special teams ace and Johnson fits the bill in both of those areas. The interview will be towards the bottom of the page, as he interviewed exclusively with Stampede Blue to talk about playing alongside Cody Thompson and Jon’Vea Johnson, what makes a great route runner, and how he’d like playing with Andrew Luck and T.Y Hilton.BackgroundSize:5’10” 183 poundsMeasurables: 40 Time: 4.53 / 10-yard split: 1.59 / Bench Reps: 15 Reps / Vertical Jump: 33.5 inches / Broad Jump: 125 inches / 3-Cone: 7.09 secondsCareer Stats:135 catches for 2,235 yards and 23 touchdowns. 78 kick returns for 1,826 yards and 2 touchdowns. 17 punt returns for 343 yards and 2 touchdowns in his career. Round Projection:Rounds 4-5Fit with the Colts:Johnson may not have the greatest size or athleticism, but he makes up for that with his versatility and nuance. Johnson is an excellent route runner who excels at winning at the line of scrimmage and working his way open. He is also a dangerous return man, and would give the Colts a much needed boost in this area. If the Colts want to upgrade their slot from Chester Rogers, grabbing Diontae Johnson in the middle rounds would be a great investment. Film Room:The first things that pop are Johnson's release at the line and his route running. He is really advanced in these two areas of his game.Johnson has the deep play ability and after the catch ability to be a big play threat, as well.The return game, however, is where Johnson truly shines. He could be one of the best returners in the league one day. Johnson was one of the top returners in college.InterviewZH: You were a talented player in Florida during your high school career. What went into the decision to attend Toledo?DJ: Coach Candle was the coach at the time, and he came and found me at one of my games that I did real well. I didn’t really know much about the school until I went on a visit. I liked the area and the coaching staff and I felt like it was the right place for me to be at. Toledo stuck with me through everything and stuff like that.ZH: You played alongside two talented receivers in Cody Thompson and Jon’Vea Johnson at Toledo. What was it like to be in such a talented receiver room?DJ: It was good Matt Slauson Color Rush Jersey , because we were able to learn from each other. Obviously, we have different playing styles, but just to be able to sit in the film room with them and pick each other’s brains and let each other know what we did wrong here and there was just a good experience. Not too many people get that experience, to be apart of something like that, and it was just great, man.ZH: Would you say that you guys were the best receiving trio in college football?DJ: Yeah no doubt, hands down. The numbers we put up and things we did as a group, I feel like nobody is ever going to do what we did again in my opinion. ZH: Where would you say is your best fit in the NFL? In the slot or on the outside?DJ: I would say slot because of the matchup mismatches and what not. I can play both in or out because I’m so versatile and I have the ability to do just about anything my coaches ask of me.ZH: You were an outstanding special teams player in your career. Do you think that is an area that you can immediately contribute at in the NFL? DJ: Oh yeah, certainly. Just what I can do with the ball in my hand and being able to play kick returner or punt returner gives me a boost for teams. A lot of teams are really high on me because of my ability as a receiver, and that ability to play special teams. I feel like I can come in and help a team out real fast on special teams, and that is really what I want to play. After that, if I get a chance to play offense, I can show what I can do on that side of the ball as well.ZH: I like to ask this of a lot of receivers I interview. What is the key to be a great route runner? What makes a guy elite in this area of their game?DJ: You gotta be able to win at the line of scrimmage. That is where the play starts. If you can’t win at the line of scrimmage www.coltsfanshop.com/Anthony-Walker-Jersey , then the route is dead. Obviously, you gotta be able to run every route in the route tree and have good hands, but you gotta win at the line of scrimmage, because that is where the play starts at. ZH: Who in the NFL do you model your game after/compare yourself to?DJ: I watch Stefon Diggs a lot. Just the way he comes out of his breaks, and gets off of the line, and catches the ball in traffic, I really try to model my game after him. Being that we are the same height— he weighs a little bit more than me— I would say that our games are pretty similar and I compare myself to him.ZH: These last two are going to be Colts centered questions. First, how cool would it be to get the chance to play alongside T.Y Hilton and Andrew Luck if Indy were the team that drafted you?DJ: It would be a great experience for me. Just being able to play with those type of guys who have had great success would give me a chance to soak up as much information as I can to better my game. The ability to learn under T.Y Hilton— that is another one of the receivers I model my game after— and playing with a guy like that would really help me. To learn from a guy like that and take the little techniques he has and apply it to my game would just be awesome. ZH: What is my team getting if they spend a draft pick on you in this draft? What separates you from other receivers in this class?DJ: Just my versatility. I can play both in and out and even special teams too. A lot of receivers in this draft don’t play special teams, they are just receivers. I feel like I have the upper hand on them because I can play special teams and receiver. There aren’t too many people that can do things with the ball in their hand like I can and make people miss like I can. I’m just being humble about it but I just feel like I’m better than anybody they compare me to. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard was disappointed when his name didn’t appear on the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster Tuesday night.Now the league’s leading tackler intends to make all future opponents pay for the perceived snub.“He told me he’d have 40 tackles this week, and I told him that’s humanly impossible,” tight end Eric Ebron said Wednesday.But if the Colts (8-6) have learned anything about their star rookie, it’s not to discount anything he says.When South Carolina State played Clemson in 2016, Leonard had 19 tackles against the eventual national champs and his childhood favorite www.coltsfanshop.com , which never offered him a scholarship. His performance that day earned him the nickname “Maniac” around campus, a nickname he still clings to, and put him on the radar of Colts general manager Chris Ballard.Throughout the draft process, he heard from the critics again. This time they were questioning the level of competition he faced in college; how long it would take to make the transition from FCS to the NFL; and whether Ballard reached when he took Leonard at No. 36 overall, four picks into the second round, in April.Others questioned whether missing all of the Colts’ spring and summer workouts because of a bad hamstring would slow him down this season.Leonard has proved all of them wrong.Despite missing one game, at New England, he continues to lead the league with 146 tackles and needs 15 over the final two games to break Jeff Herrod’s single-season franchise record (160), a mark that has stood since 1991. And if Leonard’s play matches the hype, Herrod’s record could go down Sunday against the New York Giants (5-9).“It adds more fuel to the fire,” Leonard said when asked about missing the Pro Bowl. “It gives me more reason to go out and keep fighting. With everything I did and knowing it’s still not enough, I’ve got to put more on my resume.”Leonard views it as more of a promise than a warning and it fits his personality.While he revels in the underdog role, he routinely plays with a chip on his shoulder and continually sets his standards high. His goal each week is to get 25 tackles and he’s finished in double digits in seven of the Colts’ 14 games. He’s tied with Carolina’s Luke Kuechly for the most games with 10 or more tackles this season.But what the Colts have found in Leonard is much more than a tackling machine.His seven sacks are third most by a Colts rookie Indianapolis Colts Customized Jerseys , trailing only Dwight Freeney (13) and Vernon Maxwell (7). Dee Ford, Khalil Mack and J.J. Watt — all Pro Bowlers — are the only players this season to force more fumbles than Leonard (4). He also has 12 tackles for loss, six passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.Andrew Luck spotted the potential almost from the first moment Leonard suited up for Indy. At the first training camp practice, Leonard made a leaping, acrobatic interception of the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback.“I’ll be honest, the first couple of training camp practices I said ‘My goodness, he’s not supposed to be that fast and play linebacker,'” Luck recalled. “And then he went up for that interception and came down with it, and I just said ‘My goodness.'”Luck appreciates that he won’t have to contend with Leonard in a meaningful game. The rest of the league won’t be as fortunate.“I want to go out there every week and make every tackle,” Leonard said.“I like to set a crazy goal, so each week if it’s not 25 (tackles), I’m mad at myself.”