Omar Khan pulled off a major trade last night.  Only this time it has not been met with the usual praise he has gotten in past deals.  The Steelers sent Diontae Johnson and a 7th round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for Donte Jackson and a 6th round pick.  This is not the kind of return on a Diontae Johnson trade most had expected.  Getting a marginal corner an a late round pick swap fro an extremely talented receiver seems a little light.

Donte Jackson is a 29 year old corner coming off a down year.  He graded out at a 64.1 according to PFF, with a 52.3 run defense grade. https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/donte-jackson/49377

In most cases, corners of this age do not improve over time.  In fact, its safe to assume this may the be the start of a decline.  There were even rumors that if the Panthers planning on cutting Jackson if they were unable to deal him this offseason.

To make matters worse, Khan did not get the team any cap relief in this deal.  The team only managed to save roughly 500K against the cap in this deal.  This means there is no extra cap room to go out and replace the giant hole at receiver that they have created.

There’s no question it was time for Diontae Johnson to go.  He was in the last year of his contract, and it was clear through his behavior in 2023 the Steelers were not going to attempt to extend him.  Johnson also did not fit the mold of a tough, blocking wide out new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith wants in his offense.  There are even rumors now that Johnson was given permission to seek a trade after asking out of Pittsburgh.  Giving such a high profile player permission to seek his own trade is a strange tactic for this team.  It may have led to the lack of return for Johnson.

We wrote about the possibility of Diontae Johnson not being on the team in 2024 way back in November. Is Diontae Johnson’s time in Pittsburgh almost up?

It’s early, but this has not been a great offseason for Omar Khan thus far.  This trade will not go down as a win for the Steelers regardless on how Johnson plays in Carolina.  He also has greatly misjudged the center market.  After being outbid on Mitch Morse, the team has been unable to land any of the top free agent centers.  The Patrick Queen signing is a good start, but there is so many more dire needs than inside linebacker.  Omar Khan has a lot of work to do to overcome this Diontae Johnson trade.