There have been some favorable stories floating around about Giants tight end Theo Johnson. He finished last year on IR, but is healthy now. Prior to that, he says he felt like he was getting in a groove.
The fourth-rounder's first four games of his rookie season, he was a non-factor: just 3 catches in those four contests. If you look instead at his last eight games, between that first month and the foot injury, things start to look a little more respectable. Nothing to covet in fantasy leagues, but at least something to get him on the radar, particularly in TE-premium leagues.
Table shows Johnson's numbers his last eight games, against all other tight ends the second half of the season (minimum 5 games). To be honest, the numbers aren't quite as good as I was anticipating, with Johnson averaging just over 3 catches for 37 yards, with 1 TD. Johnson in those contests averaged 7.8 PPR points. But that at least got him within shouting distance of the top 15 tight ends, which is something.
| TIGHT ENDS PER GAME, 2ND HALF OF THE SEASON | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR/G |
| Trey McBride, Ari. | 8 | 66 | 665 | 2 | 18.1 |
| Jonnu Smith, Mia. | 9 | 58 | 582 | 7 | 17.6 |
| Brock Bowers, L.V. | 8 | 55 | 614 | 3 | 16.8 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 5 | 34 | 250 | 3 | 16.2 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 8 | 31 | 384 | 7 | 14.0 |
| Sam LaPorta, Det. | 8 | 38 | 426 | 5 | 13.8 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 8 | 38 | 603 | 2 | 13.8 |
| Zach Ertz, Was. | 8 | 33 | 304 | 6 | 12.7 |
| Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 9 | 39 | 389 | 5 | 12.0 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 8 | 45 | 388 | 2 | 12.0 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 5 | 18 | 195 | 2 | 9.9 |
| Austin Hooper, N.E. | 8 | 29 | 339 | 2 | 9.4 |
| Juwan Johnson, N.O. | 8 | 30 | 323 | 2 | 9.3 |
| T.J. Hockenson, Min. | 9 | 38 | 428 | 0 | 9.0 |
| Dalton Schultz, Hou. | 8 | 27 | 288 | 2 | 8.5 |
| Tyler Conklin, NYJ | 7 | 24 | 212 | 2 | 8.5 |
| Hunter Henry, N.E. | 7 | 27 | 260 | 1 | 8.4 |
| Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 8 | 22 | 331 | 2 | 8.4 |
| Noah Gray, K.C. | 9 | 23 | 229 | 5 | 8.4 |
| Mike Gesicki, Cin. | 8 | 35 | 312 | 0 | 8.3 |
| Will Dissly, LAC | 7 | 22 | 239 | 2 | 8.3 |
| Chig Okonkwo, Ten. | 9 | 32 | 320 | 1 | 8.2 |
| Isaiah Likely, Balt. | 7 | 18 | 206 | 3 | 8.1 |
| Noah Fant, Sea. | 6 | 21 | 215 | 1 | 8.1 |
| Theo Johnson, NYG | 8 | 26 | 294 | 1 | 7.8 |
| Foster Moreau, N.O. | 8 | 20 | 246 | 2 | 7.1 |
| Cade Otton, T.B. | 5 | 15 | 179 | 0 | 6.6 |
| Jordan Akins, Cle. | 8 | 21 | 218 | 1 | 6.1 |
| Tommy Tremble, Car. | 7 | 14 | 162 | 2 | 6.0 |
| AJ Barner, Sea. | 8 | 16 | 113 | 3 | 5.7 |
| Tanner Hudson, Cin. | 6 | 15 | 122 | 1 | 5.6 |
| Brenton Strange, Jac. | 8 | 22 | 221 | 0 | 5.5 |
| Jake Ferguson, Dall. | 7 | 21 | 160 | 0 | 5.3 |
| Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 8 | 17 | 172 | 1 | 5.0 |
| Dawson Knox, Buff. | 7 | 14 | 209 | 0 | 5.0 |
| Luke Schoonmaker, Dall. | 9 | 19 | 185 | 1 | 4.8 |
| Cole Kmet, Chi. | 9 | 20 | 171 | 1 | 4.8 |
| Stone Smartt, LAC | 8 | 14 | 167 | 0 | 3.8 |
| Michael Mayer, L.V. | 8 | 17 | 135 | 0 | 3.8 |
| Nate Adkins, Den. | 8 | 9 | 93 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Josh Whyle, Ten. | 9 | 14 | 106 | 1 | 3.6 |
| Ja'Tavion Sanders, Car. | 7 | 9 | 97 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Josh Oliver, Min. | 7 | 10 | 128 | 0 | 3.3 |
| Kylen Granson, Ind. | 8 | 10 | 107 | 0 | 2.6 |
| Daniel Bellinger, NYG | 8 | 11 | 94 | 0 | 2.6 |
| Grant Calcaterra, Phil. | 9 | 7 | 82 | 1 | 2.4 |
| Adam Trautman, Den. | 8 | 6 | 67 | 1 | 2.3 |
| Lucas Krull, Den. | 8 | 11 | 77 | 0 | 2.3 |
| Colby Parkinson, LAR | 9 | 7 | 80 | 1 | 2.3 |
| Drew Sample, Cin. | 8 | 12 | 67 | 0 | 2.3 |
| Nick Vannett, Ten. | 9 | 7 | 57 | 1 | 2.1 |
| Elijah Higgins, Ari. | 8 | 8 | 69 | 0 | 1.9 |
| Johnny Mundt, Min. | 9 | 5 | 49 | 1 | 1.8 |
| Mo Alie-Cox, Ind. | 8 | 5 | 47 | 0 | 1.2 |
| Andrew Ogletree, Ind. | 8 | 4 | 53 | 0 | 1.2 |
New York has a new quarterback; three new ones, actually. All of them -- Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and probably Jaxson Dart -- are better than what the team slopped onto the field the second half of last season: Tommy DeVito, Tim Boyle, Drew Lock. So maybe one of them will take a liking to Johnson.
In general, I wouldn't be drafting him as a starter. But as a second tight end in PPR leagues with the chance to catch 4 passes per week, sure, he's in the discussion. Especially if, as he suggests, he was feeling a groove just prior to getting hurt last year.
--Andy Richardson