Insider Shares Ravens' Confusing Diontae Johnson Plan

The Baltimore Ravens' big trade deadline pickup hasn't produced the expected results.

Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson (left) and Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (right) talk on the field before their game at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

When the Baltimore Ravens acquired Diontae Johnson on Oct. 29, fans began wondering how he could help an aerial attack that was already excelling reach new hights. However, few predicted how the Ravens would actually be using him: they aren't.

OK, that's an exaggeration, but it's not too far from the truth. In three games with the Ravens, Johnson has appeared on just 33 offensive snaps (18 percent) and notched just four targets, one reception and six yards. Considering the expectations fans and analysts had for Johnson in this offense, those numbers are incredibly underwhelming to say the least.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like Johnson's role will be changing any time soon, or at least not changing much. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shed light on the Ravens' plans for Johnson going forward, and why he's seen so little action thus far.

"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," Fowler wrote. "After asking around on this, the sense I got was that they considered him too good a player to pass up at the price Carolina was asking, 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."

For context, here's the quote from Monken that Fowler is referring to:

"'Tae' is doing great," Monken said Thursday. "It's not easy for him. You come in, in the middle of a season, and you're trying to get him up to speed of what is relevant now – what we're doing now – but that doesn't cover everything.

"'Oh, yes, he's got to know two-minute – how we work that, when we've got to be up on the ball know both spots. Oh, we happen to check at the line; he's got to know all the signals; he's got to know everything else that we do. Oh, he's got to know multiple spots to be able to go in the game [and] to feel comfortable there.' He's doing great. He's doing great. We're going to continue to try and find ways to get him on the field, but we haven't really lost anybody, [and] we're doing pretty good with the guys we've got."

Based on that quote, it sounds more like a matter of Johnson learning the offense and the Ravens learning how to fit him in. It's now been three weeks since the trade, which should be enough time to define his role.

Johnson's first two games with the Ravens were essentially a wash, as he only had a couple full practices following the trade. However, he still didn't see much action in Sunday's loss to his former team the Pittsburgh Steelers, which doesn't bode well going forward. Hopefully, he'll see the field a bit more going forward, but it doesn't look great on that front.

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