The Baltimore Ravens’ offense is operating at a historic pace over the first 10 games of the season. QB Lamar Jackson is putting another MVP-worthy campaign as the Ravens routinely put up 30-plus points against their opponents. Their offense got better on paper with the trade for WR Diontae Johnson, but his integration into the unit has been a slow roll.
The Ravens play against Johnson’s former team on Sunday, and it will be his third game with the team. Over the first two games, he has one reception on two targets for six yards. Could this be the week, against the Pittsburgh Steelers no less, that he gets more involved?
“Just don’t wanna rush things,” Lamar Jackson said via the Ravens’ YouTube channel when asked about getting Johnson more involved. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s probably how coach [and] those guys feeling, but we definitely want to get him involved because he’s a great talent. He’s a great addition to our offense. Explosive, great receiver from what I’ve seen. We played against him plenty of times and I see it on the practice field. Definitely wanna get him involved.”
Johnson didn’t go out on a particularly high note with the Steelers, but everybody who has watched him over the years knows just how great of a route runner he is. The sixth-year veteran is elite at creating separation. At some point, he will be an asset to that offense, but it has been a slow roll as they stay mindful of keeping the chemistry of the offense intact.
Mike Tomlin was asked Tuesday about preparing for Johnson, which he largely dismissed while basically saying there are bigger fish to fry on their offense.
Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman are the top two receivers, and the Ravens also have some role players like Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace, who just had a big explosive touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. They also have two capable tight ends with Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, not to mention the running backs.
It seems unlikely that Johnson will all of a sudden be involved in this Steelers game, but perhaps he will be by Week 16 when the Steelers travel to Baltimore to wrap up the season series.
