Giants rookie tight end Theo Johnson hoping to build off his best game of season
Theo Johnson of the Giants looks on during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The rookie receiver has become a record-setting sensation. The rookie running back is coming off a breakout game. The rookie defensive backs have established themselves as entrenched and reliable starters.
The rookie tight end? Theo Johnson isn’t keeping up with Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy, Dru Phillips or Tyler Nubin statistically but he keeps patiently chugging along in his effort to become the impact player the Giants believed he could become when they drafted him in the fourth round of Penn State in the spring.
Because that’s what tight ends do.
“I’m used to playing that role and not being selfish,” Johnson told Newsday this week. “That’s just part of being a tight end. You obviously want to be able to contribute more in the passing game but as a tight end it can be super different week to week. So just doing my job.”
Last week that job finally expanded to catching passes. He hauled in five catches on five targets for 48 yards in the win over Seattle after making just three catches on eight targets for 37 yards in the previous four games. Coming into Week 6, the Giants had thrown the ball to their tight end just 15 times, the fewest in the NFL. Daniel Bellinger had the other two.
It’s one of the reasons why Johnson was hoping — although not necessarily expecting because, you know, the tight end thing — the trend would continue Sunday night against the Bengals in a prime-time matchup at MetLife Stadium. It was another game with Nabers on the sideline with a concussion, as he was in Seattle, which theoretically meant more opportunities for everyone else running routes.
Add to that thinking the Bengals having allowed the most touchdowns to tight ends this season entering the weekend (three) and things were looking up for Johnson.
“If you show you can handle it, then they put more on your plate,” Johnson said. “We’ll see what the plan is and how they’ll continue to use me but I showed them I can handle it. At the end of the day, it’s up to the coaches and what they decide to call.”
Johnson certainly wasn’t a headliner in the draft class but internally the Giants were intrigued by his potential. They also were preparing for the retirement of Darren Waller, which eventually came later in the summer. At 6-6 and 230 pounds, Johnson has the dimensions and abilities some of the top tight ends in the league possess.
“He brings, obviously, a big body presence in the middle of the field and even out wide where we can get him matched up on some smaller defenders,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “We have a lot of confidence in him. I know there was something made about him not having as many opportunities early on, but we have a ton of confidence in him, and you saw [last Sunday] what he can do and his physicality, his size and strength in the middle of the field.”
He was recruited to Penn State as a receiver but even when Johnson wasn’t technically a tight end he was subconsciously grooming himself for the job. His favorite player growing up in Ontario, Canada, was Rob Gronkowski. Johnson was so impressed by Gronk that he tried to talk his parents and coaches into letting him wear a big elbow brace like his hero did . . . even though he didn’t have an elbow injury.
There were signs that Johnson’s role could be expanding as this season progresses.
“Theo is a young player and he's continuing to grow each and every day,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said this week. “You see it in the meeting rooms. He's getting more comfortable with it. You see it on the practice field. I think the more opportunities that come his way, he's going to make those plays. That's really for any young player. You're getting into what the NFL game is like, you're getting more comfortable and more confident and Theo is doing that.”
A strong performance in Sunday’s nationally-televised game against the Bengals, Johnson knew, would certainly boost his profile. Perhaps he would even become as renowned (or on as many fantasy teams) as Nabers or Tracy. He just wasn’t necessarily counting on it.
“Every week they have stuff dialed up for you, it’s just whether they are going to call it or not,” he said. “You have a responsibility in the passing game and the run game, Whether you get the ball or not you play a role in the scheme. I’m just doing my job and making sure I am helping the team any way I can.”
It’s the Tight End Way.
Notes & quotes: The Giants honored their 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl-winning championship teams at halftime and early-arriving fans received a commemorative Tom Coughlin bobblehead doll . . . Newly signed punter Matt Haack made his Giants debut and played in his 100th career game. He was acquired when Jamie Gillan injured his kicking hamstring late in the week . . . With Gillan, Nabers, RB Devin Singletary (groin) and WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (shoulder) previously ruled out and LB Kayvon Thibodeaux (wrist) placed on IR, the only other inactive players for the Giants were CB Tre Hawkins and G Jake Kubas … Nabers, who did not travel with the team to Seattle last week, was at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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