Theo Johnson Has the Size and Stats to Be a Giants Weapon — But His Drop Problem Is Getting Hard to Ignore

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh believes in his tight ends room, telling Giants fans at the team’s Town Hall event last month that, in his opinion, there’s not a better group in the league.

We can see why he’d feel that way based on the progress made by Theo Johnson, who is entering his third season.

The fourth-round pick out of Penn State in 2024, Johnson has been productive so far, finishing tied for 14th among tight ends in receiving touchdowns (with names like Mark Andrews of the Ravens, Travis Kelce of the Chiefs and Kyle Pitts of the Falcons).

Johnson’s 11.7 yards per reception were also sixth among tight ends who had a minimum of 50 pass targets.

There was also improvement across the board for Johnson in his second season, which lasted three more games than his injury-shortened rookie campaign, which we’ll get to in a moment.

That all bodes well for a Giants offense that is probably going to be leaning on a lot of two and three-tight-end sets this season.

THEO JOHNSON, TE

Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 264 lbs.
Exp.: 3 Years
School: Penn State
How Acquired: D4-’24

2025 in Review

Johnson started 15 games and rarely came off the field, partaking in 75.8% of the offensive snaps. Unlike his rookie campaign, he did not contribute on special teams.

Johnson finished with 45 receptions for 528 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns, an increase from his injury-shortened 12-game rookie campaign.

The majority of Johnson’s pass targets came with him lined up in the slot, where he had a combined 24 receptions out of 36 pass targets (both left and right sides) per PFF and NFL+ data.

Where Johnsson was particularly impressive was when he was sent up the seam. Johnson is a tall man who stands 6-foot-6 and has a large wingspan. His ability to get downfield, especially up the seam where his 80¾” wingspan makes him a great target, was impressive.

Not surprisingly, for the second straight season, he recorded a 60% or better contested catch rate, his 2025 percentage of 63.2% topping the 62.5% he set in his rookie campaign.

The main negative? The drops. For the second year in a row, Johnson recorded five dropped passes, bringing his career total to 10 over his first two seasons, which ties him for the most over that period with Washington’s Zach Ertz.

Contract/Cap Info

Johnson is in the third year of his four-year rookie deal. He will count for $1.282 million against the cap, which breaks down to a $1.075 million base salary and a prorated $207,859 signing bonus.

Not that Johnson is in danger of being cut, but were that to happen, the Giants would save on his base salary and have dead money cap hits of $207,859 this year and next year.

2026 Preview

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson (84) warms up during a week 9 game between New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Johnson is going to be a part of this year’s offense, but with the arrival of Isaiah Likely, Johnson will probably settle into more of a complementary type of receiver while his pro game continues.

If he is to cut down on his dropped balls, he has to do a better job of getting his head and hands around as the ball arrives, as far too often, those balls he dropped occurred when his hands weren’t quite ready to make the catch.

The other thing he needs to improve is his blocking. Johnson ranked 32nd overall among 42 tight ends who had a minimum of 260 blocking snaps last year, with his run blocking grade (51.0) putting him 35th and his pass-blocking grade (41.0) 40th among that same sample size.

Johnson has the size and the strength to be a powerful blocker, but his technique has been inconsistent, likely due to the challenge of his being 6-foot-6 and not always sinking his hips to gain leverage against his man.

Johnson is still young and a work in progress, so there is no reason to give up on him right now, but he does have work to do to reach his potential.

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