The Carolina Panthers aren’t hiding for a second that they’re in the process of trying to trade Diontae Johnson. The receiver has been a target of speculation as we approach the trade deadline, and that got pushed to the stratosphere over the weekend when Carolina chose to make Johnson a healthy inactive for their game against the Broncos, despite Bryce Young making his first start at quarterback since Week 2.
When you have a No. 1 receiver who’s healthy get made inactive without any off-field drama it’s a sign something is brewing, and on Monday ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed just that.
It’s a move that truly makes sense for everyone involved. Johnson is too talented to rot on a terrible Panthers team down the stretch, while for Carolina the team has emerging young receivers in need of as many reps as possible, with 1st round pick Xavier Legette and UDFA standout Jalen Coker both showing they could be the future for the Panthers at WR.
Who is Diontae Johnson in 2024?
Still really, really good. Nobody can be blamed for not actively seeking out watching Panthers games, but Johnson has been a standout in an otherwise disappointing passing offense in 2024.
Entering the trade deadline with 30 catches for 357 yards and 3 TDs, he’s already on pace for a 758 yard season — which would easily be over 1,000 in a competent offense. A steady, reliable outside receiver, Johnson’s ability to separate from defensive backs makes for easy receptions. It’s clear he’s not far removed at all from his top seasons in Pittsburgh, and this was truly a case of being anchored to terrible quarterback play over the last three seasons, rather than any drop in production on his end.
There’s also the matter of his contract, which is extremely attractive to a team on a playoff run who has suffered an injury or two. Johnson was traded to Carolina in the second year of a two year deal he signed in Pittsburgh, with the financial commitment only being for the remainder of 2024 — at a relatively manageable cap hit of $10M.
This makes him an ideal candidate to be a short-term rental.
If there’s any downside it’s that Johnson is vocal. He’s a wide receiver, and they’re always vocal. He won’t let bad play slide, and is happy to bark at his quarterback or coaches if he thinks something is off. That’s directly related to how much success the team is having, so any issues would be ameliorated by winning.
Who should trade for Diontae Johnson?
Even after the big-name trades of Davante Adams (Jets), Amari Cooper (Bills), and DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs), there are still at least four teams who should be ready to kick the tired on Johnson.
San Francisco 49ers
This one goes without saying. Brandon Aiyuk’s injury made receiver a position of immediate need for the 49ers entering the playoffs, and while Deebo Samuel is still great and Ricky Pearsall is emerging, the plan was to always have Pearsall work out of the slot between two great outside guys.
Johnson is a hand-meets-glove fit across from Deebo to strengthen San Francisco’s passing attack and round out their offense. His ability to separate will help both in the passing game, and keep defenses honest against the run, which is the bread-and-butter of the offense.
As it stands this is the place which makes the most sense, and it would be surprising not to see the Panthers and 49ers work out a deal.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens loss to the Browns last week underscored the perennial problem for this organization: Weapons for Lamar Jackson. Zay Flowers is quickly showing that he can be the guy, but beyond that the only threats in the passing game for Baltimore are Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews.
This team has the potential to make a Super Bowl, but they can’t keep making the same mistakes. Johnson would finally give this team two solid outside receivers, both of whom are creative route runners on improvisational plays.
Houston Texans
Houston isn’t nearly as convincing as people thought they’d be this season, which is largely a product of how brutal passing around the league is. This hasn’t been helped by the fact Nico Collins is injured, and now Stefon Diggs might be dealing with some injury concerns as well.
The Texans have no shortage of draft capital to shore-up their playoff run if they hope to be anything more than winning the abysmal AFC South and losing early in the postseason. This team still has the potential to make noise, but they need help to do it.
Johnson would bring a veteran presence to the offense and deepen the passing attack. It makes a lot of sense here too.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Let’s get a little dumb with the last one, because why not? What would it take for the Steelers to trade for Diontae Johnson and bring him back to Pittsburgh?
Obviously there was a lot of angst from his time with the Steelers, but much of that was related to Matt Canada at offensive coordinator and Kenny Pickett at quarterback. With those two blockers removed there’s a real place for him on that roster and it makes a lot of sense.
George Pickens, Van Jefferson, and Calvin Austin III are all fine — but none of them are as good as Johnson. With Russ at the helm there’s a chance this team could make real noise in the passing game in the playoffs with another threat on the outside.
Plus, in this scenario we get to imagine the Steelers trading Justin Fields to the Panthers, which is so dumb and fun it needs to happen.
