Is Zay Flowers Or Diontae Johnson the WR1 For the Ravens? Fantasy Football Outlook (2024)

Baltimore Ravens wide receivers Zay Flowers, who is in his second year with the team, and Diontae Johnson, who was just traded from the Carolina Panthers, will now be the two most talented WRs on the team. Johnson was the clear WR1 for the Panthers before the trade, and Flowers has led the Ravens in targets and receiving yards.

This creates an interesting situation where two clearly talented receivers will have a chance to battle it out for who gets the starting job and becomes the most targeted and most productive player. Both clearly have the skillset and proven production to deserve a shot at being the leader of the WR room.

So will Flowers or Johnson be the WR1 for the Ravens from now on?

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Will Diontae Johnson Become The WR1?

It's unlikely that he'll step in and be the WR1 from day one. While he's a fantastic route runner, excels at beating man coverage, and can win in a variety of ways, he'll first need to become accustomed to his new offense. It will be the second time in less than a year that he'll have to adjust to a new playbook.

The moment the Ravens decided they would trade for Diontae Johnson pic.twitter.com/bjCbpOTg4X

— Danny Heifetz (@Danny_Heifetz) October 29, 2024

He'll have a strong case for at least being the WR2 to start off, though. This would put him in a good position to battle for the top spot. Baltimore's WRs haven't been a great unit altogether this season, and even Flowers has had consistency issues. He'll be a more difficult challenge for Johnson to surpass, though.

Will Zay Flowers Remain As The WR1?

While it's not clear exactly what their roles will be, Flowers seems like the more likely candidate to remain as the WR1 in both the short and long terms. He's in the midst of a breakout season, and his down games are often the result of poor game scripts. He's played very well and produced with his opportunities.

Zay Flowers is at a 25.8% target share right now, and is top twelve in targets, catches, and receiving yards.

He is getting ELITE WR1 type usage. He’s got a 60% of his snaps coming from the outside, just under 40% from the slot. He has plenty of screen passes, handoffs, deep…

— Hutchinson Brown (@hutchinsonb_ff) October 29, 2024

The more likely outcome of this trade is that the former Panther will serve as the WR2 alongside the man wearing No. 4 and help clean up the issues caused by fellow WRs Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor. He presents a significant upgrade over those two options.

Zay Flowers and Diontae Johnson Fantasy Football Outlook

It's unlikely that this trade will impact Flowers much. He has a very well-established role in the offense, and offensive coordinator Todd Monken has made it a point to feed him plenty of designed targets. He's stepped up in a big way since last season, and is a solid WR2 in fantasy football now.

Zay Flowers is FILTHY😵‍💫 pic.twitter.com/WAOCZBebv2

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) October 29, 2024

His elite short-area quickness makes him ideal for this role.

We can expect Bateman and Agholor to have much-diminished roles with the arrival of No. 5 from the Panthers. He's more of a traditional route-running specialist. Both these WRs should have prominent roles in the offense, and it will be interesting to see if they adjust to a more pass-heavy approach given this upgrade.

Red Rifle slings it to Diontae for the TD

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/qWgQ1Fd7qg

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 13, 2024

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