After a tough start to the 2024 NFL offseason, the Carolina Panthers finally got a big win.
The team finally added a top option at wide receiver by trading for Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson, per multiple reports. Carolina sent cornerback Donte Jackson to Pittsburgh as part of the deal, which also involved a low-round pick swap.
So, essentially, the Panthers add who will likely be their WR1 this season in exchange for a player with the inside track to be the Steelers’ CB2 opposite Joey Porter Jr. However, there is one side that feels like a clear winner here and another side that feels like it could’ve done so much better.
Let’s break down this latest 2024 NFL trade and see who came out on top between the Panthers and Steelers.
Trade details
Per Adam Schefter, these are the trade details:
Carolina receives: WR Dionate Johnson, 2024 seventh-round pick
Pittsburgh receives: CB Donte Jackson, 2024 sixth round pick
Carolina Panthers
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If you’d like to attach a theme to the Panthers offseason, it’s “help Bryce Young however we can.” The 2022 first-overall pick has failed to live up to his draft billing, but new coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan already seem intent on prioritizing the offense.
Trading star outside linebacker Brian Burns and letting rising linebacker Frankie Luvu walk as a free agent stings badly, but adding some stability to the offensive line with two substantial contracts on starting guards (Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis) will help Young’s development. Adding Johnson in a low-risk, high-reward trade and shedding Jackson’s contract in the process is a win for Carolina.
Johnson is a former 1,000-yard receiver (2021) who can give Young a reliable veteran option in the passing game alongside wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and whomever else Carolina adds in free agency or the draft. Even with uneven quarterback play with the Steelers last season, Johnson totaled a respectable 717 yards and five touchdowns.
The new Carolina receiving threat will also only cost $10 million on the cap, which is about what the Panthers were paying Jackson before the trade. Swapping out Jackson, a player they likely would’ve cut, for a starting receiver and a low pick swap is just fantastic wheeling-and-dealing for Morgan and Canales. After the awful Burns trade (which really isn’t all this new regime’s fault), this is a slam dunk for the new era of the Panthers.
Grade: A
Pittsburgh Steelers
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What? The Steelers, one of the historically smartest franchises in the NFL when it comes to moves like this, just traded away a starting receiver for a cornerback with injury history that both might’ve been available as a free agent later this week. Jackson is a decent player when he’s healthy, and the Steelers have Joey Porter Jr. as their top cornerback of the future. As a running mate with Porter, you could do worse than Jackson, but you could also do better.
Johnson only commanding Jackson and a pick swap feels very off, as you could reasonably see the Steelers getting a better return from another franchise with a need at wide receiver (I know of one in Kansas City that probably would’ve loved having Johnson and would’ve given up better draft capital for him). Especially with the premium on the position, how is this the best Pittsburgh could do? We’re a bit flummoxed. Did the Steelers just get fleeced by the Panthers?!
Grade: D
