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Fantasy football managers who were expecting to see veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson take a leap after being acquired by the Baltimore Ravens have been left disappointed, and it sounds like his role isn’t changing anytime soon.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained that Johnson’s slow start with the Ravens after being traded from the Carolina Panthers indicates that he “might just be a veteran insurance policy in case something happens to top wideout Zay Flowers.”
After Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken acknowledged last week that the team has struggled to get Johnson involved in the offense, Fowler determined that the team saw Johnson as “too good a player to pass up at the price Carolina was asking” and he “offered them a chance to use more three-receiver sets than they usually do, should they want to go that route.”
In three games with the Ravens, Johnson has just one catch for six yards on four targets. Still, Fowler pointed out that he could end up playing a major role for Baltimore later this year as the team chases a spot in the Super Bowl, which doesn’t do much for fantasy football managers.
“Remember, the [Los Angeles] Rams added Odell Beckham Jr. as an extraneous-looking player the season they won the Super Bowl, and he ended up playing a larger role than anticipated once Robert Woods sustained a season-ending injury,” Fowler noted. “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.”
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