Pittsburgh Steelers fullback move benefits TE David Johnson -NFL News
Pittsburgh Steelers’ tight end, David Johnson, who in the first reaction did not look happy over the team’s move of converting him into the fulltime fullback, now sees the benefits of the change to his career prospects.
The decision now looks to extend the player’s pro career indefinitely, who spent last season as tight end while doing almost nothing.
He now has spoken of reaping benefits of his repositioning, playing on the position as he was trained and groomed for it.
Johnson said:
"It's actually a little bit easier. That's all I've got to learn now is fullback. At first I had to know both tight end positions and fullback. Now I just focus on fullback and just create my better habits on that and become the best at it."
According to the player, he has embraced the role quickly and is happy over the change.
On the question whether he will prefer to go back to his previous tight end position, the player said he is rather happy being a fullback and this is the position he now looks to retain in future.
In spite of the success the player has on the position, the real benefit of the move to Steelers is to be seen in the real game environment.
The team apparently hopes it works out for them as they have lost a couple of veterans and performance of Johnson remains crucial to their wins.
Johnson is also backed by his teammates for the position since they did not see him getting chances of playing up to his potential on the tight end position.
Heath Miller, another tight end with Steelers, said of Johnson:
"Last year, he was just trying to hit it on the fly."
It is for the first time since 2007 when former fullback, Dan Kreider, left the team that they have a fulltime player for the position.
A majority of teams have now moved on to the strategy of focusing on three or four-receiver passing, leaving the fullback position to become obsolete.
Other teams are seen likely following the trend now provided Steelers achieve the desired results.
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