Juwan

Johnson

Johnson’s 30-yard touchdown put the game on ice in the fourth quarter. In the Saints’ first game since trading Rashid Shaheed, the 29-year-old tight end tailed only Chris Olave with four targets. Johnson looks the part of a low-end TE1 heading into the Saints’ Week 11 bye week.

Johnson turned an otherwise quiet day into a likely TE1 outcome on a curl route run from the Rams’ 11-yard line. Johnson found a soft spot in the Rams’ zone coverage and waited for the ball. Once secured, he shucked off an arm-tackle attempt made by diving LB Nate Landman before powering past two more Rams defenders for the score. Johnson remains a low-end TE1 stab against the Panthers next week.

Olave missed practice last Wednesday because of the ankle issue. He returned on Thursday and was good to go for Sunday’s game. A full practice today suggests he is getting healthier. The same is true of Juwan Johnson, who was listed with a neck injury but practiced in full. Olave will stay in the WR2 ranks for Week 9 while Johnson is a volume-based TE1.

Johnson largely had a nondescript day, as the Saints’ offense struggled to move the chains. The veteran tight end picked up a first down on the Saints’ second drive, and later earned a target on 4th-and-2 in the fourth quarter, though he followed that play up with a drop. Taysom Hill totaled just three touches in his gadget role. Johnson is just a borderline TE1/2 against the Rams next week.

He’ll remain a tough player to trust for fantasy purposes in Week 8, as his role has faded considerably since Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill returned in Week 5. Johnson’s a startable TE2, nothing more.

Johnson sported a red non-contact jersey on Wednesday, but reportedly left it behind today. Johnson is on track to play this week against the Buccaneers. Johnson’s workload dripped in Week 6, but he bounced back with seven targets in Week 7. He’s on the TE1/2 fringes.

The neck injury is new for Johnson, but it doesn’t look like something that will force him to miss Week 8’s game. A limited session to open the week is standard fare for veterans midway through the season. Coming off a 79-yard return to form versus the Bears, Johnson will flirt with a TE1 ranking ahead of his date with the Bucs.

The Bears stonewalled the Saints on the ground all game long, so the Saints had to take to the air to move the ball. Johnson was a main beneficiary of that and made a few chunk plays down the field. The Saints have a condensed passing offense with Johnson, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed, so a pass-first game script keeps Johnson relevant in fantasy leagues. Considering the Saints take on the Bucs next week, and the Bucs are one of the best run defenses in football, we could get another fringe TE1 effort from Johnson next week.

Johnson’s quiet day was made even worse when he coughed up a fumble at midfield in the fourth quarter. He was initially ruled down by contact, but a challenge by New England overruled the call on the field, changing it to a fumble recovered by the Patriots. After starting the season red hot, Johnson has failed to catch more than three passes for 28 yards in any of his previous three games. With his role on the decline and his play not meriting more opportunities, Johnson is likely a drop in redraft leagues heading into Week 7.

He got in a full practice session on Friday. While he played a still-strong 84.8 percent of the snaps against the Giants, he received just four targets. Is health the main reason that he’s fallen off his pace of over nine target a game over the first three weeks, or is the main reason the return of Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill? He’ll be more of a TE2 against the Patriots until we see the target count track up again.