The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t anticipate seeing WR Diontae Johnson on the field again after trading him in March. They sent him out of the conference to a bad Panthers team, after all, and he “felt wanted” there. But since making that move, the Baltimore Ravens acquired the former Steelers receiver.
On the eve of his debut against his former team, the Steelers, Johnson’s new Ravens teammates are excited for him. WR Rashod Bateman talked him up now that he has had a couple of weeks to settle into the offense. “It’s been amazing. Diontae [Johnson] is a phenomenal football player; we’re glad to have him’, he said, via the Ravens’ website. “He definitely gives us more weapons, [and we can] be more creative with our offense. [I’m] definitely excited to see what we do with him and do with this offense”.
After eight weeks with the Panthers, Diontae Johnson has had two games with the Ravens, including a short-turnaround Thursday game. Thus far, he has one catch on two targets for six yards. The six-yard catch came at the end of the first half last week on which he failed to get out of bounds, allowing the half to expire. He fell on the route on his other target, so things could be going better.
But Johnson and his Ravens teammates trust that he can offer much more than that, starting with Sunday’s game against the Steelers. Even Mike Williams only played nine snaps for the Steelers on Sunday. And if Calvin Austin III hadn’t exited with an injury, we would have been talking about his Steelers debut the way we talked about Diontae Johnson’s Ravens debut. But with time spent in the new system, Johnson is feeling comfortable.
“They’re working me in slowly”, Johnson said of his time with the Ravens. “It’s just really [about] the terminology [that you] have to pay attention to. I’m just taking it one day at a time, so it’s really just [about] learning the formations and stuff like that. Then obviously, my job is to just go out there and be me, and that’s what I’m trying to do”.
A third-round pick by the Steelers in 2019, Diontae Johnson is a former Pro Bowler who wore out his welcome in the Steel City. While he at times caused frustration on the field, he often produced. Despite frequently dealing with poor quarterback play, he caught 391 passes for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns while with the Steelers over five seasons. And he played about a quarter and a half with a “healthy” Ben Roethlisberger whose elbow was about to blow.
Now he has Lamar Jackson, who has taken his actual quarterbacking at another level. He is already surpassing the passing numbers that made him the league MVP last year. This is quite possibly the best passing situation Diontae Johnson has ever had in his career, even better than with Roethlisberger with the Steelers—and it’s with the Ravens, of all teams.
That doesn’t mean the Ravens will play Johnson against the Steelers much or that he will make any plays. As Mike Tomlin pointed out, right now they have more significant options. Bateman is one of them, and Zay Flowers is basically Johnson with more speed in some ways. Then there is the tight end duo of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, and a little running back known as King Henry. So if the Ravens beat the Steelers Sunday, it might not be thanks to Diontae Johnson. Even if John Harbaugh likes to fashion himself some narratives.
