There’s a lot to like about Juwan Johnson as a player. He’s clearly talented. He has the TE1 role on the New Orleans Saints. And he plays on a young, ascending offense. Last season, that manifested in the best year of his career. With his 2026 price in fantasy football drafts not reflecting that leap, should managers be eyeing up Johnson late in drafts?
Should You Draft Juwan Johnson in Fantasy Football?
Johnson is a true success story. He entered the league as a seldom-used player in 2020 and gradually worked his way up the depth chart through hard work. It took him two years of grinding to finally earn a part-time role. Then, it took another three before he wound up in the main role at tight end.
Last season was the first time Johnson truly mattered in fantasy. He’d had moments previously, but topped out at 8.4 fantasy points per game in 2022, not exactly someone managers were looking to put in lineups.
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In 2025, Johnson posted a career-best 10.6 PPG, good for an overall TE11 finish. He caught 77 passes for 889 yards and three touchdowns. Amazingly, his season should’ve been even better, as his three touchdowns were below expectations for his yardage total. Johnson actually should’ve had at least six, if not seven.
Johnson still wasn’t quite a full-time player with only a 65% snap share. He did earn an 18.1% target share, which was a career high, but was only targeted on 20.2% of his routes run. Johnson’s 1.76 yards per route run ranked 11th at the position.
As well as Johnson played last year and as effective as he was, 2025 really felt like the perfect storm for him. The combination of it being Kellen Moore’s first year leading the offense, Johnson’s veteran experience, and the Saints’ lack of receiving weapons behind Chris Olave came together to prop Johnson up. I fear 2026 will be quite different.
Johnson’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
Last year, Johnson’s sleeper status should’ve been more apparent. We want tight ends who are at least the No. 2 pass catcher on their teams. Those are admittedly difficult to find outside of the elites. So, we want to take shots on late-round TEs who at least have a plausible path to being second on their team in targets.
Rashid Shaheed was the WR2 to open the season and a legitimately talented player. However, we perhaps should’ve been more cognizant of the fact that he might get traded. Plus, it’s not as if Shaheed has this lengthy track record of heavy volume.
Johnson was actually pretty solid with Shaheed, averaging 10.1 PPG. He was even better without him, posting 11.6 PPG.
On the surface, that bodes well for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, there’s a very important change to the offense that will be a problem for Johnson’s volume.
Jordyn Tyson joins the team as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He should immediately step into the WR2 role and projects to be second on the team in targets. Now, we have Johnson capping out at No. 3. But the Saints also have Devaughn Vele, who is a solid rotational piece and rookie Bryce Lance, who could mix in later in the season.
The point is there’s far more target competition than there was last season. As a result, Johnson should have a tough time replicating last season’s production, and the fantasy community knows it. That’s why, despite the TE11 finish, his ADP is way down at TE16.
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Suffice it to say you won’t be seeing Johnson drafted outside of deep leagues, and that’s perfectly fine. Johnson is the type of player you don’t worry about in drafts, but keep an eye on during the season. He is still going to be the Saints’ TE1 and will have weeks when he scores. That always keeps him on the streaming radar. If you need a TD-or-bust TE2, Johnson can be that guy. Just don’t worry about him in fantasy drafts.
Johnson’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
It’s unfortunate that it took Johnson so long to earn his stripes. It feels like his career his just getting started, but he’s already 30 years old.
Additionally, Johnson is the type of player who relies on athleticism. He’s one of the best athletes at the position. That’s great for his performance, but makes it more likely he is unable to succeed deep into his 30s.
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Johnson probably only has a couple of years left as an NFL starter. Given that he only has one year of fantasy relevant production and is now facing more target competition, we’ve likely already see the best of him. He should be fine as a TE2 on dynasty rosters, but certainly isn’t a player anyone needs to go out of their way to acquire.
