Raven Country

Ravens Could Get Extra Pick From Diontae Johnson Trade

The Diontae Johnson trade looks even better for the Baltimore Ravens.

Jon Alfano

Sep 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (5) catches a pass from quarterback Andy Dalton (14) for a touchdown during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (5) catches a pass from quarterback Andy Dalton (14) for a touchdown during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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The Baltimore Ravens are no strangers to making big mid-season trades, and this year is no exception.

On Tuesday, the Ravens acquired former Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson and a sixth-round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for just a fifth-round pick. Johnson, 28, is one of the league's best receivers at gaining separation, and should open up Baltimore's offense even more. For just a Day 3 pick swap, the Ravens got themselves a steal.

That's not even the whole story, though. As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out, the Ravens could get another draft pick as part of this trade if Johnson doesn't stick around.

"Here's something nobody's brought up yet that's interesting: if and when Diontae Johnson leaves after this season, he's on an expiring contract and scheduled to be a free agent. If and when he signs somewhere else, there's a real possibility that the Ravens are going to get back a compensatory draft pick higher than the fifth-round pick they gave up to Carolina, not to mention the sixth-round pick," Schefter said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "And this is what good organizations do. They think about now, getting a great player who can beat man-to-man coverage on their roster, and they think about the future where Diontae Johnson may help this team come up with an extra compensatory draft pick in 2026."

The Ravens are the masters of compensatory picks, usually having more than one each season. If not for the limit of four picks per team, they could have received seven of them in 2025 alone (per OverTheCap). Even still, the four picks are more than enough to work with.

To determine who gets which compensatory picks, the NFL has a formula that awards them based on free agents that left previously. However, if a team adds a player in free agency, it could cancel out the pick they would've received. For instance, the Ravens' addition of Derrick Henry this offseason cancels out the sixth-round pick they could've received by losing John Simpson. There's far more to the formula than that, but that's the general gist of it.

Baltimore has always been a savvy organization, and by potentially getting another pick in an already savvy trade shows why the team has been so successful.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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