Juwan Johnson Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Johnson caught 50 balls for 548 yards and three TDs in 17 games last year. He tied for 18th among TEs in catches and ranked 15th in yards.

Johnson finished 17th at the position in total PPR points but just 21st in points per game. He scored as a top-12 TE three times (although he had two other weeks at TE13).

Usage & Role

Johnson ran a route on 66% of Saints pass plays last year — 24th among TEs. He climbed from a 60% route rate through Week 13 to 80% over his final five games. That coincided with Taysom Hill’s season-ending knee injury. Only 10 TEs registered a higher route rate over those last five weeks.

We saw a similar jump in Johnson’s targets:

First 12 games:

• 3.3 targets per game
• 10.3% share

Last 5 games:

• 5.4 targets per game
• 15.8% share

Johnson climbed from 33rd among TEs in expected PPR points per game through Week 13 to 15th over the final five weeks.

Efficiency Metrics

Johnson registered a career-best 75.8% catch rate last year and averaged 11.0 yards per catch. His 8.3 yards per target was also a personal best and ranked 10th among 36 TEs with 40+ targets.

Johnson finished 22nd among those 36 TEs in yards per route, although he climbed to 10th out of 38 qualifiers over the final five weeks.

Offensive Context

The Saints offense was not very good last year, finishing 24th in points, 21st in yards, and 17th in yards per play. The passing game ranked:

• 23rd in yards
• 20th in TDs
• 30th in completion rate
• 22nd in yards per attempt

The offense was significantly better in QB Derek Carr’s 10 games — but he was out for the final four games of the season when Johnson’s role grew.

Historical Production & Trends

Johnson has hovered between 7.5 and 8.5 PPR points per game over the last three seasons. His finishes among TEs in PPR points per game:

• 2022 - 18th
• 2023 - 22nd
• 2024 - 21st

Johnson’s yards per route run have also held steady: 1.39, 1.19, 1.34. But he did earn a career-best 71.3 Pro Football Focus receiving grade last year.

Injury History

Johnson missed one game in 2022 with a sprained ankle and four in 2023 after injuring his calf in warmups ahead of Week 4.

He underwent foot surgery in June of last year but was activated from the PUP list in mid-August and was ready by Week 1.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

The Saints signed Johnson to a three-year, $30.75 million deal in March. It makes him the league’s 12th-highest-paid TE in terms of average annual salary — and pretty much guarantees that Johnson will play a significant role in the offense.

Taysom Hill remains on New Orleans’ roster but will likely miss most of the season after suffering a torn ACL and other damage to his left knee in December.

Supporting Cast

QB Derek Carr’s surprising retirement in May leaves second-round rookie Tyler Shough as New Orleans’ most likely starter. The other options are Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, who both struggled in spot duty last year.

Shough spent six injury-plagued years in college but is coming off a nice 2024, posting career highs with 3,195 passing yards and 23 TDs. His 87.7 Pro Football Focus passing grade ranked fifth among 128 qualifying QBs.

Shough is not lacking in terms of arm talent, but he’s a big question mark for Shaheed and the Saints heading into 2025.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

The Saints hired Kellen Moore as their new HC in February. He replaces Dennis Allen, who was fired in the middle of last season.

This is Moore’s first HC gig after a successful six-year run as an OC.

He ran Dallas’ offense from 2019 to 2022, leading the Cowboys to top-six finishes in points in three of four seasons. Two of those teams led the league in total yards.

Moore headed west to Los Angeles in 2023, taking over as Chargers OC. That team finished 21st in points and 18th in total yards, but QB Justin Herbert dealt with multiple injuries and missed the final four games of the season.

This past year, Moore helped the Eagles to a Super Bowl. The offense ranked seventh in points and eighth in total yards.

Moore has shown an ability to adapt his scheme and play calling to his personnel. His pass rates have ranged from 61.4% (2020 Cowboys) to 44.3% (2024 Eagles). Considering the Saints’ uncertainty at QB, expect Moore to lean toward the run this year.

Moore’s offenses have consistently been fast paced with high play volume. His first five teams ranked top four in seconds per play (last year’s Eagles ranked 24th). And all six have averaged at least 65 plays per game. For perspective, only four teams averaged 65+ plays per game last year.

Moore’s offenses have produced a top-12 TE in PPR points per game in three of six seasons (Dalton Schultz in 2020 and 2021 and Dallas Goedert last year).

Production & Efficiency Trends

Johnson will play the upcoming season at 29 years old. That’s past prime for TEs, according to our aging-curve research, but we can still expect 86-90% of peak production.