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Tre’Davious White gave himself good grades while kicker Justin Tucker is still trying to solve a season-long funk. But at least those Baltimore Ravens players know how they will be used, unlike Diontae Johnson. And fantasy managers won’t love this update.
It seems like the Ravens tricked themselves when they made the trade with the Panthers to pick up the former premier wide receiver. Now they apparently don’t know what to do with him, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
“Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken basically acknowledged last week that they're having a tough time finding ways to involve Diontae Johnson in the offense,” Graziano wrote.
OK, pause on that one for a second. Maybe try this. Have Johnson run a route. Throw him the ball. Nah. Too complicated.
Does Ravens WR Diontae Johnson not fit with team?
Graziano nosed around a bit to see if he could get to the bottom of this odd admission.
“The sense I got was that they considered him too good a player to pass up at the price Carolina was asking,” Graziano wrote. “And that he offered them a chance to use more three-receiver sets than they usually do, should they want to go that route. But that's not really the way their offense is set up. And unless the Ravens are planning a major midseason scheme change (which I don't believe they are), Johnson might just be a veteran insurance policy in case something happens to top wideout Zay Flowers.”
OK, let’s get this straight. The Ravens liked the idea of using more three-receiver sets. So they traded for Johnson. Then they’re like. Nah. We don’t really use three-receiver sets. Can someone get Carolina on the phone and see if they want a do-over? Do you ever hear this level of nonsense in the NFL.
Maybe this explains why the Ravens, with arguably the best team in the NFL, have lost four games. Sure, they’ve all been close losses. But when an organization doesn’t know what it needs to do and how to handle personnel, that can drift onto the field.
Graziano tried to smooth it over by mentioning this:
“Remember, the Rams added Odell Beckham Jr. as an extraneous-looking player the season they won the Super Bowl,” Graziano wrote. “And he ended up playing a larger role than anticipated once Robert Woods sustained a season-ending injury. It's not the news Johnson fantasy managers want to hear, but this might be a case of a team just deciding you can never have too many playmakers.”
Well, OK. But here’s the problem. Are we really buying that Johnson is not better than Rashod Bateman? Let’s check their career numbers.
- Bateman catches by year: 46, 15, 32, 33 (this year)
Bateman yards by year: 515, 285, 367, 531
- Johnson catches over last four years: 107, 86, 51, 31
Johnson yards: 1,161, 882, 717, 363 (this year)
And consider who thew the ball to Johnson for most of this season. His name isn’t Lamar Jackson.
Maybe the Ravens will figure it out and win the Super Bowl. But for a team that just passed for only 207 yards in a loss to a division rival, maybe Todd Monken can earn his money and figure a way to utilize an explosive receiver like Johnson — who had only two targets against the Steelers. Meanwhile, Bateman received five targets and turned them into two catches for 30 yards.
