A report from Nick Underhill yesterday announced that Juwan Johnson is likely switching his position to tight end. This move makes sense and it was surprising that this move didn’t happen last season due to Johnson’s size. The guy is 6’4, 230 pounds and brings skill to the position. A week or two ago I wrote about how Johnson could be a hidden gem for the Saints at receiver, but now that he is switching positions I’ll review and go over certain assets to his game that will be more valuable at tight end than receiver.
Johnson is a fairly decent blocker in the run game, there were plays last season where Johnson created a running lane on the outside and held up his own. It’ll be a transition however from blocking a corner to defensive ends and linebackers, but his size definitely will help makeup for the lack of experience there. Playing alongside Adam Trautman will elevate both of their games since they are both young players in their careers.
The Saints like the two tight end sets in their offense, in 2010 it was Graham and Shockey, then it was Graham and Josh Hill, then Ben Watson and Hill, and the rest of the tight end duos since 2016. Trautman is definitely the better pass catcher and more developed in the blocking category and that is simply just due to Trautman experience, but that doesn’t mean Juwan won’t get his fair share of playing time.
He’ll be used like Jared Cook in a sense, he’ll be a big redzone target and the guy who gets open due to the play design. If you go back to the Saints and Falcons game on thanksgiving 2018 there was a play where Austin Carr was wide open on a corner route, that’s the kind of play design we could see for Juwan Johnson. The play design will get Johnson open and it will be designed for him to have success.
One final important part of his game is he’s a good security blanket. We saw Drew Brees and Latavius Murray connect a few times on the check and release route. Juwan can be the guy who the quarterback dumps it off to when he’s under pressure just for simple quick yards. In short situations as well such as goal like situations or 3rd and short Johnson can line up on the outside and just run a simple slant for the first down. He’ll be a guy they use in those kinds of situations because he’s big and they’ll design plays specifically just for him to have success. Time will tell how this move turns out but for now this move is definitely needed for depth and development.
Written By Kadin Janisch
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