The Baltimore Ravens gave up virtually nothing for WR Diontae Johnson, and through two games, that’s what they’ve gotten. While he is barely a week into their system, the former Pro Bowler is so far an afterthought. The Ravens are putting up big numbers around him while he can hardly keep his feet.
In fact, after seeing zero targets in his Ravens debut last Sunday, Diontae Johnson did worse than nothing last night. On two targets, he caught one pass for six yards on a failed play. QB Lamar Jackson targeted him at the end of the first half, but another former Steeler, CB Mike Hilton, tackled him before he could get out of bounds. The clock ran out without Baltimore having a chance to set up for a long field goal or a Hail Mary.
Jackson came back to him early in the second half, targeting Johnson on a 2nd-and-19 play, but the wide receiver fell down on his route. They punted two plays later and the Bengals hit a 67-yard touchdown on the first play of their next possession.
So that’s two targets and two failed plays in two games for Diontae Johnson in his early tenure as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. He has one reception for six yards, on which he failed to achieve his goal of getting out of bounds.
Many Steelers fans will gleefully embrace this as schadenfreude, and I entirely understand that. I still expect Johnson to be a significant contributor to the Ravens’ offense in a positive way when it matters, though. They traded for him to add depth for a postseason run. He has only been there for a week and a half or so; DeAndre Hopkins-like contributions are the outlier.
Diontae Johnson spent his first five NFL seasons with the Steelers after they drafted him in the third round. They traded him to the Carolina Panthers this offseason, getting back CB Donte Jackson and a late pick swap in their favor.
Yet after seven games, the Panthers flipped him to the Ravens along with a sixth-round pick to get a sixth back. That is what the Steelers paid for Ryan Switzer, for perspective. Diontae Johnson is obviously a better player than Ryan Switzer, but the Ravens are not seeing it so far.
But the Ravens are 7-3 through 10 games with seven left to play. And up next are the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a mini-bye beforehand. I’m willing to bet Baltimore will have Johnson up and running by then. And you know Johnson will be highly motivated to show out against his former team, and the fans who celebrated his departure.
