CHARLOTTE — Every time Diontae Johnson breaks off the line, he has only one thought in his mind; "the ball is coming my way."

Statistically and logistically speaking, that's not always possible, or even feasible. There are multiple receivers, only one ball, and actually getting the ball is largely dependent on getting open. But Johnson skews the average. He has a knack for getting wide open more often than not. ESPN says over the last two years, Johnson has an open score of 94, highest in the NFL during that span.

Getting open doesn't necessarily correlate to targets, but Johnson's philosophy remains steadfast; lose the defender, prepare for the ball and the ball will come.

"I try to have in the back of my head, the ball is coming my way every time. So that allows me to go out there and play full speed," Johnson explained Thursday, following the Panthers second day of training camp. "When I'm at that line, I always have a plan. And that allows me to just play with confidence, knowing I'm going to get open and expect the ball to come my way at all times.

"I try not to play like the ball (is) not coming my way. You play like that, the ball pop up on you, you're going to be like shocked, but just try to stay locked in at all times."

Having someone with the ability to be open most of the time creates a new and interesting dynamic for quarterback Bryce Young. The second-year passer is learning a new offense, under a new staff, and now, he has to learn what Dave Canales calls "a special mover," because he's "really explosive, really fast through his turns."

Added Young, "Diontae is very special in how he moves, how he create separations, how he runs routes…He's very, very wiry in his movements, quick twitch, the way he can get in and out of breaks, sell routes.

"Everyone has things that, it's not a good or bad, it's just different that you have to kind of adjust to. And for Diontae, it's just the movement, the quick twitch, how quick he is in and out of breaks. So, it's just kind of accounting for that."

So, what does it take to learn "a special mover?" What makes time with Johnson different than time with any other receiver?

"It's my job to adjust to that and to make sure that I'm able to have the same timing and to get the ball out early to know where he's going to be, be able to anticipate that. And it takes time. I think we're growing in that," Young explained.

"It's going to take more time, more reps, more conversations and that's definitely a big point of emphasis for me throughout this training camp…he's someone that is very, very special in just what he can do and quarterbacks, it's on us to adapt to that what makes him special, like what makes him different."

It's a challenge not every quarterback has been able to master. Johnson was with the Pittsburgh Steelers for five seasons. He had 80-plus receptions in three of those seasons. The two seasons with a lower number saw Pittsburgh rotate three different starting quarterbacks through the roster. In 2022, catching balls from Kenny Pickett for the majority of games, Johnson had 86 receptions on 147 targets, for 882 yards, but no touchdowns.

His two best seasons with the Steelers came with six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the helm. Those years, Johnson had 88 receptions for 923 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020, then 107 receptions for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022.

There is a person on each end of this throw and catch though. For as much time as Bryce Young will spend learning Johnson, the former Steelers receiver traded in March will spend the same amount of time learning Young.

"Really just staying on the move in those situations," Johnson said, when asked about becoming comfortable with Young becoming mobile. "If you see him get out of the pocket, try to get in his vision and try to make a play for him. It don't matter what situation you in with him or whatever, just try to at least be in position to make a play at all times for him."

For Canales, watching the chemistry grow between these two is even less about what they do during a play, and more what they do after. Following a route, Young will seek out Johnson or receiver Adam Thielen, going over the previous rep.

The road ahead is still long for these two to be completely on the same page, but rays of lights are peeking through. Like on Wednesday, at the first practice, when Young escaped the pocket from pressure, rolled out to his left, came back to the original pocket and then threw to a spot, not a person, down the left sideline. By the time the ball made it 20-plus yards on air, Johnson was able to peel off his defender and nab the catch in stride before running out of bounds.

"I feel like our relationship steady growing," Johnson said. "Once I got here, OTAs, and in that first practice or whatnot, we clicked instantly and we steady growing with each other. We watch film together outside of practice and stuff like that. So I'm just trying to get in the playbook with him and see what he's looking at on certain things, so I can be on the same page with him."

The more Bryce Young and Diontae Johnson are on the same page, the better the story will read for the Panthers.