New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson has been identified as a breakout candidate by The Athletic.
New York’s lack of receiving talent gives Johnson a chance to increase his production in 2025, despite only registering 331 receiving yards across 12 games in his rookie year.
Jake Ciely picked Johnson as one of his top five potential tight end breakouts. While Johnson is only relevant in deeper leagues, he could have a major role to play in the Giants’ offense due to their lack of a clear second option.
Wan’Dale Robinson, who saw the second-most targets last season, was largely inefficient with 699 yards and three touchdowns on 93 receptions. Johnson would need a significant increase in his workload to be a viable option in smaller leagues, but Ciely believes in his upside.
On The Athletic, Ciely wrote, “Johnson has Jason Witten-like fantasy upside, and the Giants don’t have a locked-in, guaranteed No. 2 option in the passing game…
“Even if Johnson can be Witten, he’d need a minimum of 100 targets to push the Top 10 in fantasy. But given the Giants’ depth chart — and quarterbacks — it’s not out of the question.”
Significantly, Johnson had a route rate of 54.7% in 2024. He was on the field for 84% of offensive snaps, showing the Giants prefer him as a pass catcher rather than a blocker.
Johnson’s Fantasy Ceiling
Johnson is currently TE30, according to his ADP at Fantasy Pros. He was TE38 by total points in 2024 and 32 players averaged more points per game. As a rookie, he scored one touchdown and had only 29 receptions. This doesn’t sound like a player with much appeal as a fantasy option for 2025, but it’s worth noting Johnson missed the final five games of last season due to a foot issue, and he’s set to be the Giants’ starting tight end.
David Helman of Fox Sports also sees Johnson as a possible breakout candidate, citing Russell Wilson’s success with Pat Freiermuth on the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.
Teams are going to sell out to stop Malik Nabers. While the star wide receiver is still going to have over 100 receptions, Wilson is going to need other reliable targets. Johnson, who has size and speed, can be an option over the middle and downfield. Freiermuth led the Steelers in receptions in 2024 and posted 459 yards in Wilson’s 11 starts. He finished the season with more fantasy points than Travis Kelce.
Johnson could have similar production in 2025. That would make him TE10 or better.
