The Ravens made a splash last week, trading a fifth-round draft pick to the Panthers for Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson and a sixth-round pick. For the AFC’s highest-scoring offense, the expectation was that the former Pro Bowler would make Baltimore’s passing game even more dangerous.
That still might be the case going forward, but it wasn’t how things played out last week. Against the Broncos on Sunday, Johnson took the field for just 13 snaps, failing to record a single catch. It was a massive letdown for fantasy managers expecting immediate production, but is it a sign of things to come?
Obviously, the Ravens wouldn’t have made this move if they didn’t think it would help the team. Looking at Johnson’s stats this season, it’s easy to see the logic behind the trade. Over seven games in Carolina, he accumulated 358 receiving yards and three touchdowns despite inconsistent passing from Bryce Young and Andy Dalton. Lamar Jackson is a massive upgrade at quarterback, but Baltimore’s offense is crowded. Zay Flowers is already emerging as a star in year two, Rashod Bateman is having a bounce-back year, and Mark Andrews is still one of the league’s better tight ends.
With all those mouths to feed, it’s fair to wonder if the trade actually hurt Johnson’s long-term fantasy value. I’m not convinced, as the rest of season scoring opportunities will be far greater than in Carolina. Still, managers in shallow leagues will need to view the wide receiver as a matchup-dependent play. Thursday night’s game against the Bengals sees the Ravens as six-point favorites. The primetime contest has plenty of shootout potential, with an over/under at 53 points, so expect plenty of passes downfield from Jackson and Joe Burrow.
Johnson had success in this matchup recently, putting up 21.3 DK fantasy points when the Panthers played Cincinnati in Week 4. While it’s tough to trust him completely going into this AFC North clash, the former Steeler is no stranger to this type of environment. The six-year veteran wasn’t needed during last Sunday’s 41-10 Ravens win, but that should change against a desperate Bengals team on Thursday. Given the opponent and the explosiveness of Baltimore’s offense, I’d expect to see a significantly higher workload for Diontae in Week 10.
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