If the season’s first two months hadn’t already confirmed it, the Ravens’ trade Tuesday for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson left no doubt: This is the most talented group of skill position players that quarterback Lamar Jackson has ever had.

Johnson, who was leading the Panthers in every major receiving category (30 catches, 357 yards and three touchdowns), cannot fix a beleaguered Ravens defense. But he can add another dimension to a high-powered offense that already ranks among the league’s most efficient and explosive.

Here’s what Johnson brings to the Ravens’ passing and rushing attacks, which are first and second in overall efficiency, respectively, according to FTN.

Through the air

Johnson just gets open. From 2020 to 2023, his four final seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnson ranked third, fourth, first and 12th in the NFL, respectively, among all qualifying wide receivers and tight ends in ESPN’s “Open Score,” which uses tracking data to assess the likelihood that a receiver would complete a catch if he were targeted.

Over his seven games with Carolina, in a Panthers passing offense far less conducive to down-to-down success, Johnson ranked 34th in Open Score — a notable drop-off, but still better than the Seattle Seahawks’ DK Metcalf, Washington Commanders’ Terry McLaurin and Arizona Cardinals’ Marvin Harrison Jr. And with Ravens wide receivers Rashod Bateman (ranked No. 5) and Zay Flowers (No. 14) likely drawing the attention of opposing defenses’ best cornerbacks, Johnson will have more margin for error in coordinator Todd Monken’s offense.

Johnson’s role in Baltimore, however, seems due to change. He played over 65% of the Panthers’ offensive snaps in all seven games he appeared in this season, and over 78% in all but two. With the Ravens’ reliance on heavier personnel, Jackson’s growing chemistry with Flowers and Bateman, and the blocking ability of wideout Nelson Agholor, Johnson will have to earn his way onto the field.

Still, at age 28, Johnson can be a field-stretching outside threat. Nearly a third of his routes this season for Carolina had vertical stems — go routes, post routes and corner routes — a higher share than both Flowers and Bateman, according to TruMedia. And since 2022, despite iffy quarterback play in both Pittsburgh and Carolina, Johnson has 13 catches of at least 20 air yards, tied for 36th-most in the NFL.

With the inside-out versatility of Flowers, Bateman and even tight end Mark Andrews, who can win when isolated as the offense’s “X” receiver, the Ravens could feature Johnson in one of the NFL’s more impressive 11 personnel groupings (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers). Since Week 3, when the Ravens’ offense kicked into high gear and the Panthers benched Bryce Young for Andy Dalton, all four players have ranked among the top 41 qualifying receivers in yards per route run, a predictive measure of efficiency. No other team in that span has more than three.

Johnson’s impact could be most profound against a team the Ravens aren’t even guaranteed to see again this season. Over their past two meetings against Kansas City — first in last season’s AFC championship game, then in this year’s season opener — the Chiefs blanketed the Ravens in man-to-man coverage. Jackson went a combined 11-for-24 for 116 yards against blitz-heavy man looks, taking two sacks. Despite being pressured on just 18.5% of those drop-backs, Jackson struggled to find open receivers quickly; his average time to throw was nearly three seconds.

Kansas City, which at 7-0 is well on its way to securing the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, has the run defense to stymie the Ravens’ dynamic ground game in a potential playoff rematch. But giving Jackson another reliable target could help keep the offense ahead of the chains.

On the ground

When the Ravens lined up with three wide receivers last season, a surprising thing happened: Defenses often gave them run-friendly looks. In 11 personnel, the Ravens faced a light box (six or fewer defenders) on 82.3% of their plays, according to TruMedia.

And when the Ravens ran the ball into those light boxes, an unsurprising thing happened: They were hard to stop. The Ravens averaged 6.9 yards per carry in 11 personnel. Running back Keaton Mitchell, who returned to practice last week as he neared the end of his rehabilitation from a torn ACL, was the biggest beneficiary, rushing 12 times for 190 yards (15.8 per carry).

With the offseason departure of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and the emergence of tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, the Ravens have used 11 personnel less this season and, unsurprisingly, have seen fewer light boxes. In their first year under Monken, they lined up with at least three receivers on the field on 56.5% of their offensive plays; this year, that rate has fallen to 32%, with Monken featuring heavier formations.

Johnson’s arrival makes the Ravens’ spread offense possibilities more viable — and light boxes more likely. That can only be good news for running back Derrick Henry and the Ravens’ rushing attack. Henry has just 15 rushes against light boxes out of 11 personnel this year, but he’s averaging 6.4 yards per carry on them and has been stopped for 3 yards or less just four times. Jackson, meanwhile, is averaging 4.8 yards per designed rush out of those looks (excluding an end-of-game scramble against the Las Vegas Raiders).

If the Ravens embrace more three-receiver looks with Johnson, they’ll likely see more nickel packages (five defensive backs) from opposing defenses, as coordinators trade size for speed. But that could create more broken-tackle opportunities for Henry, too.

Monken’s push and pull will seesaw over the season’s next two months, but it’s a good problem to have. The Ravens’ offense was already one of the NFL’s hardest to defend. Tuesday’s trade gives defenses something else to worry about.

“It’s just playing chess and not checkers out there on that field,” Jackson said earlier this month. “That’s basically what it is with our offense, because any given game, depending on what the defense [is] giving us, [it’s like,] ‘OK they’re stopping the run, so now we just air it out, or if they’re stopping the pass ... we [are] running the ball. It’s hard to defend us, that’s what I believe.”