The 2023 season was a disappointment to the Carolina Panthers, their fans, and rookie first-round pick Bryce Young. Young was expected to come in and be the face of the franchise, and turn the fortunes of the team around. Unlike his counterpart, C.J. Stroud, Young had limited success in his rookie season. A lot of that was on him, but much of it was also due to a lack of weapons around him.
The Panthers have taken strides to improve upon the latter. They drafted players like Xavier Legette and Jonathon Brooks in the 2024 NFL Draft to improve their young talent, and they brought over Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers to help improve the receiving weapons around Young. It is that move that Bleacher Report NFL analyst Kristopher Knox has identified as the team’s “X-Factor” going into the 2024 season.
Johnson has had somewhat of a tumultuous start to his NFL career. Johnson was widely criticized early on in his career for his numerous drops. He was able to largely correct that issue, and put together a Pro Bowl season in 2021, where he had 107 catches for over 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in the Steelers offense as their primary receiver.
In the two years since, however, Johnson has seen his productivity dip, failing to gain 1,000 yards in either of the following two seasons, competing with young Steelers receiver George Pickens for the primary pass-catching role in the offense.
Now in Carolina, the Panthers are banking on Johnson returning to his 2021 form as the clear-cut number 1 option in the Panthers passing attack. If Johnson can do that, the Panthers should have a markedly improved season and Young should see his numbers go way up. If, however, Johnson continues his decline and struggles to maintain his hold as the number one receiver, it could be another long year.
