Juwan Johnson

New Orleans Saints·#83

Pos TEHt 6'4"Wt 245 lbExp 6 yrCollege Oregon

Updated September 21, 2026

TE rankings →

Model Score

83.5 MODEL

2022

82.2

2023

80.2

2024

81.5

2025

83.5

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

Juwan Johnson Stats This Season · 1 games

Rec

Rec Yds

Rec TD

Targets

54.0

Yds/Gm

14.4

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

1.491

EPA / target

1.7 yd

Avg separation

6.3 yd

Avg cushion

0.0

YAC over exp

42.9%

Catch %

Draft & College

Undrafted free agent · 2020

Penn State (Big Ten)

In college · 2017-2019 · 31 games

112 rec, 1,563 yds, 5 TD, 14.0 yds/rec

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

STM Take

The career trajectory is now clearly upward: tier 8 (#60, #36) in his first two seasons to tier 5 (#20) in 2024 to tier 4 (#16) in 2025. The duplicate-row game log Wks 17-19 (showing alternating zero and 7-15 PPR weeks) is the typical TE usage pattern. At 30 he is in his prime TE years and the Saints have invested in him as the post-Kamara receiving outlet.

Johnson came out of Penn State as an undrafted free agent in 2020 with the Giants, originally as a wide receiver. New Orleans claimed him off waivers later that year and converted him to tight end given his 6'4" frame. He has spent six seasons with the Saints, gradually working his way from depth to starting role. The 2024 tier 5 #20 finish was his career baseline, and the 2025 tier 4 #16 jump established him as a genuine TE2 with TE1 spike-week ceiling.

Strengths

Year-over-year STTM improvement from tier 8 (#60) as a rookie to tier 4 (#16) in 2025 is the cleanest TE development arc on the board for a UDFA. The 6'4" WR-converted frame gives him route-tree advantages over pure inline blockers.
Wk 17 2025's 13.5 PPR and Wk 18's 15.74 PPR show the TE1 ceiling weeks happen monthly. Career receiving touchdowns total 19 across 5 NFL seasons.

Concerns

UDFA pedigree means the structural ceiling is what the role allows, not what physical tools demand. The 30-year-old development arc has a natural plateau.
Multiple zero-PPR appearances in the duplicate-row game log show what a quiet game looks like. Behind Chris Olave as the primary receiving target the TE work is the secondary read.

What to watch: Whether his 2026 target share clears 5 per game with Alvin Kamara likely declining, because Johnson is the natural beneficiary of any RB-targets compression.