The Houston Texans’ wide receiver room has been brutalized by injuries. It began with Nico Collins suffering a hamstring injury that led to an IR stint in Week 5. Next to go down was Stefon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 8. Shortly after Collins returned to the lineup, Houston suffered another devastating blow last week, as Tank Dell suffered a dislocated kneecap and torn ACL.
After losing Dell, the team was left with one standout wide receiver. As a result, adding some talent became a necessity, and as luck would have it, Diontae Johnson just popped up on waivers after being let go by the Baltimore Ravens. Will Johnson face off against his former team on Christmas, just five days after they released him?
Is Diontae Johnson Playing?
Update: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Johnson will not play in Week 17 and will instead make his debut in Week 18. The quick turnaround simply did not leave enough time for the WR to get acclimated to his new team.
For Baltimore-Houston:
— #Ravens WR Zay Flowers, questionable with a shoulder injury, is expected to play.
— #Texans WR Diontae Johnson, just acquired via waivers, is planning to make his Houston debut in Week 18 vs. the #Titans. Today is too quick.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 25, 2024
As soon as the Texans claimed Johnson, he became available to play in Week 17.
Now, five days after originally being waived by Baltimore and just two days after he was claimed, he’ll have a chance to get revenge against the Ravens on Christmas Day.
It remains to be seen how much the Texans will use Johnson since he’s only had 48 hours to learn the playbook and learn his teammates’ names. However, he does have plenty of information about Baltimore’s offense that Houston’s defense will be able to use.
One of the key reasons Baltimore held off on cutting Johnson for so long is because they didn’t want the Pittsburgh Steelers to claim him right before their pivotal Week 16 showdown. They didn’t want Johnson to join their AFC North rival, give them a ton of information about the offense, and then potentially play against them.
While Johnson didn’t join the Steelers, he could still have an impact on the AFC North race if his information and production help the Texans defeat the Ravens on Christmas Day.
Diontae Johnson’s Fantasy Outlook
The Texans are Johnson’s third team this season. He started the year with the Carolina Panthers, and he totaled 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns through seven games.
The bulk of Johnson’s production occurred over a four-game stretch from Weeks 3-6. Over that span, Johnson totaled 73.2 PPR points and was the WR6 (behind only Ja’Marr Chase, Drake London, Chris Godwin, Garrett Wilson, and Terry McLaurin). Then, he dropped off the face of the Earth.
Prior to the trade deadline, Johnson was dealt to the Ravens. However, his stint in Baltimore was incredibly underwhelming, as he played just 40 snaps and caught one pass for six yards. From Weeks 7-16, Johnson totaled 4.3 PPR points, making him the WR162.
On Dec. 4, Johnson refused to enter the Ravens’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles, so he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and subsequently released. Johnson was frustrated with his lack of playing time with Baltimore.
Now, Johnson will have every opportunity to emerge as C.J. Stroud’s WR2 in Houston.
With that said, he likely won’t have much fantasy relevance in Week 17 since he just joined the team and still needs to learn the playbook. It’s very hard to trust Johnson this week, making him nothing more than a desperation play.