Theo Johnson Ready for Bigger Role in NY Giants Offense

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson is ready for his second NFL campaign.

Oh, is he ever.

“Yeah, I think that I can step into a bigger role this year and add a little bit more value than I did last year,” the former Penn State standout said after Friday’s practice.

“Last year was a lot of growing and kind of just jumping off the deep end, and I think as I look back to last year, I learned a lot of lessons and even this offseason as well. So, I think there's a role for me to fill for sure.”

Before suffering a season-ending foot injury on Thanksgiving, Johnson, who had quietly moved into the TE1 role for the Giants, was just starting to get into a groove, which kicked into gear around Week 5 when he caught all five of his pass targets.

From that point on, the coaches put more on Johnson’s plates, giving him longer and more challenging routes to run, as well as blocking responsibilities.

While not always flawless, Johnson showed growth week after week, with the coaches’ confidence in him increasing each week, as evidenced by a healthy dose of weekly snaps.

“Theo is a guy that is a tireless worker. He’s very smart for a young player, has tremendous size and athletic ability, a catch radius, and can block at the point of attack in both the run game and the pass game. That’s hard to do or hard to find nowadays, particularly coming out of college.”

Indeed. The 6-foot-6 Johnson, the team’s fourth-round draft pick last year, has a massive frame that he put to good use in warding off defenders, and yet for a man his size–he tipped the scales at 264 pounds–he still showed a good burst of speed and agility, a nice catch radius, and big hands to secure the ball when it came his way.

“Yeah, I felt like I was starting to hit my stride a little bit,” Johnson said of the leadup to his unfortunate injury. “Everything was starting to come together, so it made it a little frustrating when the season came to an end, but I want to continue to build off that and grow this year.”

Theo Johnson with the NY Giants, runs drills during a practice at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, | Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now fully healthy and more familiar with the offense, Johnson spent part of his offseason at Tight End University, where he had a chance to pick the brains of some of the game’s top tight ends such as George Kittle and Travis Kelce.

“I thought it was a great experience, getting around guys I’ve only kind of watched on film and tape and stuff and kind of seeing them in person, having a hands-on approach to it,” Johnson said of his first-time experience in the program.

“I thought it was a really cool experience. I got a ton out of it. Looking forward to going again next year.”

For the time being, Johnson can look forward to an increased role that, in addition to playing a part in the receiving game, will also include more blocking duties, a role that he’s all too happy to embrace.

“That’s how I got on the field as a freshman in college,” he said. “Blocking first was kind of the mentality of Penn State, and that's something I bring with me here to the next level. I think a tight end, you're supposed to be an all-inclusive player, someone that can do everything that the team needs, and blocking is part of that.”

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