Top NFL Trade Packages for Diontae Johnson After Browns Deal for Jerry Jeudy
The NFL's legal tampering period hasn't even begun yet, but already players are changing teams. On Saturday, it was a former first-round wideout. After weeks of speculation that he could be headed out of the Mile High City, per Coral Smith of NFL.com the Denver Broncos shipped Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns for fifth and sixth-round picks in this year's draft.
Jeudy isn't the only veteran receiver who could be on the move via trade. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Pittsburgh Steelers are open to the idea of trading wide receiver Diontae Johnson ahead of free agency.
Johnson's 2023 season was something of a disappointment—51 catches for 717 yards and five scores in 13 games. But as recently as 2021, Johnson topped 100 catches, posted over 1,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl. He may not be Justin Jefferson, but he's shown he can be a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL.
The Steelers are reportedly seeking a fair amount more in terms of compensation, which could make a trade tricky. But there are teams with a need at the position. The Steelers have a potentially unhappy wideout heading into the final year of his deal.
In other words, there's motivation on both sides to get a deal done—a deal that could look like one of these.
Dallas Cowboys
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As Patrik Walker wrote for the team's website, after the Dallas Cowboys were stunned by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round, team owner Jerry Jones said that Dallas was going "all-in" in 2024—even if he was a bit vague about what "all-in" actually meant.
"We will be working on different players and drafting different people," he said. "Just the very nature of it is different. Different people — we have different coaches. I think the attention that our nuances of where we are with the cap, the nuances of where we are with our position in the draft, the nuances of where we are with our free agents – we get that involved with the definition of being 'all in.' When you look at those aspects, we will be looking at every solution towards winning this year."
OK then.
While we may not know what exactly Jones meant, we do know that the Cowboys have a potential need at wide receiver. Michael Gallup is a potential cap casualty given his 418 receiving yards and $13.85 million cap hit in 2024. Brandin Cooks didn't make the sort of impact in his first year in Dallas that the team had hoped.
Diontae Johnson's 2023 numbers weren't especially impressive. But he topped 85 catches in three straight seasons from 2020-2022 and eclipsed 1,100 receiving yards in 2021. Getting Johnson's $15.8 million cap hit to fit on Dallas' books given their annual cap issues would take a little doing, but extending the 27-year-old would solve that issue.
With Dallas being awarded a pair of compensatory draft picks this week, the Cowboys have more draft capital with which to play Let's Make a Deal. And if Jones is truly serious about going "all-in," the team might just meet the reported asking price of a Day 2 pick to obtain Johnson.
Cowboys Get: WR Diontae Johnson
Steelers Get. 2024 Round 3 Pick (No. 87); 2024 Round 7 Pick (No. 233)
Kansas City Chiefs
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What do you get for the team that has everything?
The Kansas City Chiefs just won Super Bowl LVIII, so the team doesn't exactly have a dire need at wide receiver. But the Chiefs are champions more in spite of their wideout room than because of it. Rashee Rice showed considerable promise as a rookie, but behind him there isn't much.
Per Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the Chiefs did quite a bit of homework at this year's NFL Scouting Combine on the wide receiver position.
"As expected," Taylor wrote, "the Chiefs have put a significant amount of effort into learning as much as they can about the second-tier of receiver prospects. Coach Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach are hopeful that this year's deep class of receivers will allow the team to have an opportunity to acquire another one for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, perhaps with the final pick in the draft's first round. The Chiefs interviewed several receivers during the combine, the most notable prospects being Brian Thomas Jr. (LSU), Troy Franklin (Oregon) and Xavier Worthy (Texas)."
Trading for Johnson would enable the Chiefs to potentially pivot with the 32nd pick, addressing needs in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Given that Kansas City is about as "win now" as a team can get, Veach might be willing to offer up the 95th pick in order to land a proven commodity at receiver. Johnson would all but certainly jump at the chance to play with Patrick Mahomes.
The biggest sticking point here? The notion of making the two-time defending Super Bowl champions that much better—a hard pill for another AFC team to swallow.
Chiefs Get: WR Diontae Johnson; 2024 Round 6 Pick (No. 194)
Steelers Get: 2024 Round 3 Pick (No. 95); 2024 Round 5 Pick (No. 158)
New York Giants
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The Jets aren't the only New York team in need of wide receiver help. As a matter of fact, it can be argued there isn't a team in the entire NFL that needs to improve at the position more than the New York Giants.
The Giants haven't truly had a No. 1 wide receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2018. The lack of reliable receivers hasn't been the only reason that the quarterback play in New York has been less than ideal, but whether Big Blue really is "absolutely done" with Daniel Jones just one year after extending him or the team will run it back with Jones one more time, the Giants simply cannot afford to enter the 2024 season with a 31-year-old tight end as their best pass-catcher.
And that tight end (Darren Waller) is mulling retirement.
There is no shortage of mock drafts that have the Giants taking a wide receiver sixth overall. But after the combine rumors about the team's dissatisfaction with Jones, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has also become a popular pick.
Trading for Johnson would inject some desperately-needed veteran stability into a young wideout room. Offer Jones or McCarthy or whoever starts for New York in 2024 a potential go-to receiver.
New York has ample cap space ($38.3 million per Over the Cap) to bring in Johnson. And with a pair of second-rounders this year, the G-Men might just be willing to offer up that Day 2 pick that the Steelers are seeking in return for Johnson.
Giants Get: WR Diontae Johnson
Steelers Get: 2024 Round 3 Pick (No. 70)
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New York Jets
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Now, it's possible that the Steelers will indeed be able to get a Day 2 pick for Johnson. The New York Jets got a second-rounder for Elijah Moore from the Cleveland Browns a year ago, and Moore isn't close to as accomplished as Johnson.
But there's a problem—it can be argued that Jerry Jeudy is a similar talent to Johnson, and the Browns just got him for a pair of Day 3 picks. Sure, the Steelers could dig in and hold firm to their reported demand, but there are also rumors that Johnson wants out of the Steel City. If that's the case. Pittsburgh may decide that a disgruntled player in his contract year just isn't worth the potential hassle and get what they can for Johnson.
If that becomes the case, then the New York Jets could easily enter the picture.
The Jets would likely be reluctant to trade their only Day 2 pick (Gang Green doesn't have a second-rounder in 2024 after last year's trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers), but New York does have a pair of picks in Round 4—No. 110 and No. 112.
The Jets also have a fairly glaring need at wide receiver opposite Garrett Wilson. Bad quarterback play had as much to do with New York's issues throwing the ball last year as wideout woes, but Wilson himself told reporters that he could use a running mate.
"We've got some great young guys, we've got some great vets," he said. "I think another infusion of someone that brought different things to the table that gives the defense something to worry about, that would be beneficial to everyone, not just me."
Johnson would fill that need quite nicely—and the Jets have the cap space to accommodate Johnson's salary.
Jets Get: WR Diontae Johnson
Steelers Get: 2024 Round 4 Pick (No. 110); 2024 Round 6 Pick (No. 184)
Arizona Cardinals
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The 2023 season was something of a disaster for the Arizona Cardinals. Now, the pressure has ramped up for the team to affect a turnaround in 2024. For head coach Jonathan Gannon to have more success in his second season at the helm. For quarterback Kyler Murray to justify his $230.5 million extension.
For that to happen, the Cardinals have to improve at wide receiver. The team's top wideout a year ago (Marquise Brown) is about to hit the open market. Quite a few mock drafts have the Redbirds selecting Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick. But even if the Cardinals do add Harrison, they need talent and depth behind him. Youngster Michael Wilson showed some promise last year, but there's precious little behind him.
Cap space certainly isn't an issue for Arizona—the team is sitting on over $56 million to play with in wiggle room, and any deal for Johnson would likely include a restructure that lowers his cap number for 2024 anyway. The Cardinals can afford to pay a veteran like Johnson while Harrison is on his rookie deal. And adding a veteran alongside the transcendent rookie would take some of the pressure off Harrison in the early-going.
A trio of Harrison, Johnson and tight end Trey McBride isn't a bad trio of weapons for Murray.
Granted, this proposed trade doesn't net the Steelers the Day 2 pick they seek, despite the fact that Arizona has three picks in Round 3 alone. But the paltry return the Broncos got for Jerry Jeudy isn't going to make that easier. The Steelers may well have to decide to either just hang on to Johnson or accept that the return they will get won't be what they had hoped.
This deal at least moves Johnson out of the AFC, so they won't have to face their former player with regularity.
Cardinals Get: WR Diontae Johnson
Steelers Get: 2024 Round 4 Pick (No. 103); 2024 Round 6 Pick (No. 185)
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