Theo

Johnson

Per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Johnson was among three players who “were sent home or not at practice as they deal with illnesses.” Dang. Johnson got sick last Friday and was unable to play in Week 17. Hopefully, he returns to good health by the end of the week. He has blossomed into a trusted pass catcher for QB Jaxson Dart.

The Giants threw the ball 13 times in a losing effort against the Vikings last week, so even if Johnson were to play today, his target volume would be difficult to project. His absence gives No. 2 TE Daniel Bellinger a chance to operate as a full-time player, though, putting him on the touchdown-dependent TE1 radar.

Johnson was added to the injury report late in the week with an illness and missed altogether Friday. The 24-year-old tight end won’t even travel with the team to Las Vegas this week. His absence thins out an already thin Giants tight end group, though it’s unlikely many fantasy managers were counting on Johnson after putting up a zero in Week 16.

Johnson’s lowlight of the day was a pass he tipped into the hands of Vikings corner Byron Murphy Jr. for an interception. The pass was above Johnson’s head and should have been out in front of him, but it was still a ball he should have easily caught. Instead, Minnesota came away with the ball and scored three plays later. Johnson’s Week 16 goose egg will keep him off the fantasy radar heading into a Week 17 matchup with the Raiders.

Much of Jaxson Dart’s success came throwing to the tight ends, as Daniel Bellinger also caught three passes — all three on the same drive — for 35 yards in the contest. It’s the third time in five games that Johnson has reached 70 yards, but he still hasn’t scored since the start of November. He’ll try and change that in Week 16 against the Vikings.

The Giants’ receiving touchdowns leader (five) will be on the field this weekend. Johnson has proven himself as an NFL starter and one of QB Jaxson Dart’s go-to players, but he remains a somewhat volatile TE1. The Commanders’ soft defense should allow the Giants to move the ball downfield often, though.

Johnson is on track to face the Commanders this week. The 24-year-old tight end has established himself as one of QB Jaxson Dart’s go-to pass catchers, though he remains somewhat touchdown-dependent in fantasy football. He can be started as a volatile TE1 if he is good to go.

Johnson was first on the scene following a hard hit by Christian Elliss down the sideline on a Dart scramble in the first quarter, sparking a gathering of bodies near the New England bench. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, that would go down as his top contribution on the field while catching only three of his eight targets, the final incompletion of which occurred on the team’s final play from scrimmage with under a minute to play. He remains an integral part of the offense but will need to find the end zone at greater frequency before he is regarded as anything more than a top end TE2 in fantasy.

Johnson nearly caught not one but two touchdowns in this one. He was targeted on a pedestrian 17 percent of his pass routes but remained involved in the red zone as the Giants’ biggest pass catcher. Jameis Winston has not looked to Johnson the way Jaxson Dart did before his Week 10 concussion. Dart’s potential return in Week 13 should be a boon for Johnson. Giants TE Daniel Bellinger ran just eight routes to 33 routes for Johnson against the Lions.

Not exactly a ceiling outing, but Johnson has now caught at least five passes in five straight games, and seven of his past eight. He’s furnishing a nice enough floor that fantasy managers can at some point hope for some ceiling. Perhaps that will come in Week 12 against the Lions as long as Jaxson Dart (concussion) returns.