The Cleveland Browns finished the 2024 season ranked #20 in the passing attack. This coincided with the league’s 29th-ranked rushing team.
This year, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has already stated that Cleveland will return to its roots with a running scheme. But with any good offensive attack, it should be balanced. This means the offense can’t ditch the pass and offer ground-and-pound extensively.
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With a balanced aerial game, the receivers, tight ends, and running backs have to be adept at advancing the ball through the air. This equates to capable pass-catching players.
Jerry Jeudy came to Cleveland in a trade with the Denver Broncos and quickly took that WR1 spot and elevated it to the tune of 1,229 yards, a personal best for him. He was targeted a whopping 145 times with 90 receptions and was named to his first Pro Bowl.
NFL: Cleveland Browns Rookie Minicamp TE Harold Fannin
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David Njoku is an exceptional pass-catcher at tight end, and GM Andrew Berry snagged the nation’s leading pass-catcher in the draft by adding Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin. WR2 remains up in the air. So is the slot receiver, although both positions have a lot of candidates.
Most Browns fans and the media that cover the team are high on Cedric Tillman taking over that other outside receiver spot, but don’t count out Jamari Thrash.
David Bell and Michael Woods seem to evade the cut wire every year and are in play for the slot. There are other receivers in camp as well, such as Cade McDonald, DeAndre Carter, Jaelen Gill, Kaden Davis, Luke Floriea, Gage Larvadain, and Kisean Johnson.
Oh yeah, and another Johnson: Diontae Johnson (5’-10”, 183 pounds).
This Johnson had over 1,100 yards in a single season. He has been to the Pro Bowl. He has an NFL career lifetime of 11.9 yards per reception. This Johnson was voted Second Team All-Pro. He is a former college conference Player of the Year.
Can this Johnson return to those roots with the Browns?
That all depends on which Johnson shows up.
Beginnings
Johnson grew up in Ruskin, Florida, located on the Eastern bank of Tampa Bay, which is comprised of numerous coastal cities such as Tampa, Dunedin, St. Petersburg, Largo, Apollo Beach, Bradenton, and Clearwater. Ruskin has a population of just north of 30,000.
Johnson attended Lennard High School. He played basketball (8.8 points per game average) and was the quarterback for the football team in his sophomore and junior seasons, passing for 988 yards in his best year. As a senior, he was moved to wide receiver, where he had 35 receptions for 1,017 yards and scored nine touchdowns. In addition, he added two punt returns for scores with a long of 87 yards, plus three kickoff touchdowns with his longest being 99 yards.
During his high school football career, he was voted Player of the Game nine times and was named All-City and All-County as a senior. Yet, Johnson struggled to get noticed.
Toledo v Ball State Toledo WR Diontae Johnson
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
As capable as he had become as a receiver in just one season, he became a highlight reel with his return abilities. Colleges that recruited him heavily included Ball State, Eastern Illinois, Toledo, and Alcorn State. He was contacted by Miami (Florida), FIU, Wisconsin, South Florida, and UCF, but didn’t receive offers from these Power 5 schools. He chose head coach Matt Campbell and Toledo.
And Toledo played Johnson right away. He had 14 receptions for 237 yards and played in all 11 games. Johnson also contributed with 32 kickoff returns with an average of 22.8 yards per return.
In his second year, he injured his foot and did not see any game action. Instead, he redshirted, which retained his sophomore eligibility. Johnson was running a simple out route in practice when he planted and felt a sharp pain in his foot. He practiced a few more days, but the pain increased daily and got worse. He finally discussed this with the trainers. After X-rays, it was confirmed: a broken bone in the fifth metatarsal on the outside of the foot. It took surgery and today he still has a screw.
It was a non-contact injury.
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In 2017, only his second season playing college football, Johnson tallied 1,278 yards with 13 touchdowns. He also had a 17.3 yards per reception average. On special teams, he ran back 30 kickoffs, which led the Mid-American Conference, and scored once. He also had four punt returns with another touchdown.
During his final season, he had 761 receiving yards, ran back 16 kickoffs with a score, and 13 punts with yet another six-pointer.
For his efforts, Johnson was named First Team All-MAC in his final two seasons, and in 2018, he was voted MAC Special Teams Player of the Year. When he left Toledo, he was considered the program’s #2 all-time playmaker.
Still, Johnson struggled to get noticed.
Life in the NFL: the good, the bad, and the ugly
The Pittsburgh Steelers took him in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. Somebody had taken notice of his return skills, and Pittsburgh needed a good return man. But what the Steelers found out was that Johnson was a very capable receiver as well.
And while everyone in Ruskin packed away their Tampa Bay Buccaneers gear and decorated their homes with Terrible Towels, Johnson busted out in his third year with career highs in receptions (107), targets (169), yards (1,161), first down conversions (59), and touchdowns (8).
Pittsburgh Steelers v Seattle Seahawks Photo by Conor Courtney/Getty Images
That 2021 season also garnered him a Pro Bowl nod. His rookie season had gotten him named Second Team All-Pro as a return man.
Things in Pittsburgh looked great. The Steelers were winning, including a 12-4-0 record in 2020 with a division crown. Johnson played in two playoff games, a 48-37 defeat to the Browns and a 42-21 Chiefs’ loss. But losing in the playoffs beats watching them at home.
After his successful season in 2021, he signed a two-year $36.71 million extension that included $27 million guaranteed. This 2022 season set a new obscure NFL record for the most receiving yards in a single season (882) without scoring a touchdown (0).
After going 3-0 in the 2023 preseason, the Steelers opened at home against the San Francisco 49ers. In the third quarter, Johnson attempted to cut after picking up a first down at the end of a 26-yard gain. He pulled his hamstring. The end result was being placed on IR, which put him out for four games. Johnson finished the season with 87 targets, 51 receptions for 717 yards with five TDs.
Johnson was in the final year of his contract. If they got rid of him, Pittsburgh could save roughly $10 million in cap space. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers were looking to move CB Donte Jackson, who was also in his final contract year. The two teams made a swap for both players, plus each team received a late-round draft pick.
Through the first seven games, Johnson led the Panthers in receiving. Then an oblique injury sidelined him. Without any warning, he was shipped off to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline.
Everything went south from there.
Playing with which team this week?
Johnson’s tenure with the Ravens did not go well.
When he arrived in Baltimore in the middle of the 2024 season, the team was 5-3-0 and chasing yet another division crown. Fast forward, and they finished 12-5-0 and captured the division flag. So, Johnson came to a really good team with an exceptional offense led by QB Lamar Jackson and new running back Derrick Henry, plus an exceptional offensive line.
That should have been his “That’s a Bingo!” moment for Johnson, but it was anything but.
Johnson wasn’t replacing an injured receiver, but was simply added to the room occupied by Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers, who complemented tight end Mark Andrews. Nelson Agholor was listed as WR3 along with rookie Devontez Walker, who was a fourth-round pick that year.
What Johnson thought was that he should be at least WR2 on the depth chart. And yet, after four games with the Ravens, he had zero starts, five targets, and a mere one catch. And no punt or kickoff returns to hang his hat on. In the Week 13 game against the Eagles, they told him to go into the game, and he refused because he was reportedly unhappy with his lack of playing time.
We have waived WR Diontae Johnson. We have activated DB Desmond King and WR Anthony Miller from the Practice Squad for tomorrow's game.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 20, 2024
That got Johnson a one-game suspension, and then he was listed on the inactive list for the Week 14 game against the New York Football Giants on December 15. Five days later, Baltimore waived him. Three days after that, he was a member of the Houston Texans.
He was inactive for one game and then caught two passes for 12 yards with four targets and 22 snaps in the Texans’ final game of the season before the postseason. He also had one punt return.
Houston hosted the Los Angeles Chargers in the playoffs and trounced them 32-12. In that contest, Johnson had only one ball thrown his way for a completed 12-yard gain. He was only used on 16 offensive snaps.
Here were the Texans, advancing in the playoffs, getting a winner’s paycheck, and Johnson was fuming because of his lack of playing time. You know, the guy who showed up two weeks ago? Mad about this offense, who had been together all season long? To which he was simply the garnish?
The storylines from that game went from victorious and playoff advancement to players huddled around Johnson’s locker in an attempt to console him because he was reportedly unhappy with his lack of playing time.
Oh, wait, wasn’t that last line a cut/paste from the Ravens section?
Instead of realizing his good luck on landing on not one, but two playoff clubs, Johnson spat and spattered his way once again to the waiver wire.
After the game, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans stated:
“Unfortunately, with Diontae, it didn’t work out. “We’re on to the Chiefs.”
In all, for 2024, Johnson played seven games with the Panthers, four with Baltimore, and two for the Texans.
What can Browns fans expect from this Johnson?
Again, that all depends on which Johnson shows up.
Johnson has gone through his own trials and tribulations and learned what to do, and more importantly, what not to do. That Johnson can stay clear. Johnson needs to be level-headed and show why he belongs on the field. This league does not need more knuckleheads.
Cleveland Browns Mandatory Minicamp Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images
This just may be his last chance in the NFL to prove he belongs. The CFL and UFL have his number on speed dial.
The Browns signed Johnson, who will turn 29 right before training camp, to a one-year deal worth $1.17 million with no guaranteed money.
Everyone knows what a one-year deal means. It represents a “prove-it” state of affairs. You either prove you belong and can contribute, or you find football employment elsewhere, get a teaching job, or finish your real estate license. Did you understand the ‘no guaranteed money’ part? That is a message in itself to every player. Remember the “Not For Long” assessment.
It should be noted that the Browns were the only team that contacted Johnson during the free agency period.
This means his opportunities of getting on the final roster will become a battle.
Including Johnson, the roster has 13 receivers with spots for only six. Yes, six. We already know that Jeudy, Tillman, and probably Thrash will take slots. That leaves three. Every year, both Woods and Bell are in play, so that becomes just a single space open.
If Johnson has a revival of his skills and can remain focused on the fact that there is only one ball and the team comes first, Cleveland may have discovered that diamond in the rough that was thought to be lost.
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Consider that Berry has selected a receiver in every NFL draft he has commanded, yet did not take one this year. Berry has also traded for a receiver for the past three years, and yet so far, he hasn’t. His only receiver moves have been This Johnson and several undrafted rookie free agents.
Stefanski recently talked about Johnson:
“Diontae’s doing a nice job. Obviously, getting up to speed with terminology and those types of things, and I think we’ll just continue to work. But it’s good to have him out here.”
And if we are taking notes, it needs to be said that Jeudy and Johnson are the only receivers on the Browns’ roster who have caught at least 50 passes in a season. Experience certainly is an asset at any position.
Could it be that Berry and this coaching staff have high expectations for Johnson? Which Johnson is Cleveland getting?
Do the Browns have This Johnson, or That Johnson? Training camp will expose which form he will bring.
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