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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..."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 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 T.Y. Hilton Jersey 2019 , 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, 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 White Pat McAfee Jersey , 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, 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 Pat McAfee Jersey 2019 , 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. Sam Darnold remembers sitting at home in Southern California watching Andrew Luck sling the football all over the fields of the Pac-12 for Stanford.The young quarterback was a freshman in high school in 2012, when Luck became the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft and the future of the franchise for the Indianapolis Colts.More than six years later, Darnold is in the same spot with the New York Jets. And, now he'll get a chance to face Luck on the same field Sunday."From watching him in the past, first of all he's such a bright dude in general and you can see how he takes that to the football field," Darnold said Wednesday. "So it's really cool to be able to watch him play."While Luck is 29 and Darnold just 21, there are some comparisons when it comes to poise and calm under fire that are strong attributes of both quarterbacks.They are also the respective faces of their franchises, and Darnold has seen Luck deal with that responsibility over the past few years."To see him get drafted and to see what he's been able to do for the Colts and to see what he's been able to do for that organization, yeah, he's been banged up, but he's a great player," Darnold said."We know our defense has their hands full, but it's also going to be a dogfight for us, too, because they have a great defense. We're really looking forward to the challenge though White Peyton Manning Jersey , knowing how great of a quarterback Andrew is."Luck missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and has been thrust right back into running the pass-heavy offense of the Colts . The veteran threw 121 passes in a five-day span last week in losses to Houston and New England, appearing at times as though he never missed a beat.The Colts quarterback is also known to be able to make plays with his feet while playing smartly — characteristics that have some comparing Darnold to Luck."Yeah, he definitely has more years of experience, but I can see it," Darnold said. "He likes to extend plays, but at the same time he likes to just hang in there and deliver the ball on time and accurately. Yeah, I can see some similarities."Colts coach Frank Reich knows a lot about the quarterback position, having played in the NFL for 14 years — many of them as the backup to Jim Kelly in Buffalo.He, too, sees some of the same things others have been saying about Darnold and Luck."It feels like to me a little bit of the same personality," Reich told reporters during a conference call. "It's not too big from the standpoint of not only intellectually, but just for lack of a better word 'emotionally.' It's not too big. The game's not too big."And physically, being able to make the throws and some of the athleticism."Darnold didn't necessarily model himself after Luck, but he saw plenty of the former Cardinal quarterback playing his USC Trojans while he was growing up."That was when (Jim) Harbaugh was doing his thing with Andrew," Darnold said. "I got to watch him a lot and how they dominated for a little bit up there in the north. It was really fun to watch and really cool to see Andrew Luck dissect defenses at such a young age. It was really fun and kind of inspiring to me."Darnold has had an up-and-down first five games of his NFL career. He has seven touchdown passes and six interceptions, and his 55.7 percent completion rate and 77.2 quarterback rating rank near the bottom of the league.But Peyton Manning Jersey 2019 , both coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates have been happy with Darnold's consistent progress during the early part of the season. In New York's 34-16 win over Denver last Sunday , Darnold threw three TD passes, including a perfectly placed 76-yard TD toss to Robby Anderson that showed the young QB can stretch the field a little, too."I feel good every week," Darnold said. "For me, especially at this position and at this high of a level, you've just got to really just stay the course."NOTES: RB Isaiah Crowell did not practice because of what Bowles said was a "sore" ankle. Crowell was selected as the AFC's offensive player of the week after rushing for a franchise-record 219 yards last Sunday. ... CB Trumaine Johnson (quadriceps), CB Buster Skrine (concussion), WR-KR Andre Roberts (elbow/foot), C Spencer Long (knee/finger), LB Kevin Pierre-Louis (foot) and WR Charone Peake (hamstring) also didn't practice. Bowles ruled out Peake for the game against Indianapolis. ... WR Terrelle Pryor (groin), S Marcus Maye (ankle/foot) and TE Neal Sterling (concussion) were all limited.