Juwan Johnson is coming off the best season of his career, and he’s starting to get some recognition. It's not something that's received a lot of attention, but it did catch the eye of Bleacher Report's Alex Kay. He believes Johnson is one of the 5 most underrated players in the league.
Johnson finished last year with 77 catches for 889 yards, both of which were career highs. In addition to having the best season of his career, Johnson also ranked among the highest at the position. He was was fifth in catches and third in yardage among all tight ends.
Being labeled as one of the league's most underrated players is the entry level of attention. Kay pointed to Johnson's increased production and the potential of a high profile offense in New Orleans as catalysts for Johnson to break out of the underrated category. More eyes will be on the
What’s next for Juwan Johnson?
Johnson fixed his biggest issue last year. He finally became more consistent. Instead of flashing in sections of the season, Johnson showed he was capable of stringing together a full season of productive performances.
The pressure isn’t off of Johnson just yet. He had a strong 2025 campaign then the Saints brought in who could be the future of the tight end position, Oscar Delp. There isn’t much of a threat in 2026, but after that, Johnson could be fighting for the top spot.
Tight end is a position that prospects regularly need some time to adapt to on the next level. Delp taking a year or two to acclimate would perfectly align with Johnson's new contract expiring.
At that point, Johnson will be in his 30's and Delp will be moving into Year 3. If Johnson is still playing well, that could push the Saints into a real decision. Johnson's performance this season and next season will go a long way in influencing that decision.
Without looking too far into the future, Johnson will be a huge part of expanding the offense in 2026 along with Delp and Noah Fant. The Saints should deploy more multiple tight end personnel now that they have the players to do it successfully.
The multiple versatile tight ends has been a league wide trend to keep defenses off balance. It only really works if the tight ends can run block and catch passes. Johnson, Fant and Delp give the Saints that ability now.
One thing for Johnson to improve on is drops. It was something that seemingly improved with the season, but there was a point where those drops felt prevalent. Pro Football Reference credited Johnson with 6 drops on the season. That's not terrible, but it's firmly in the 'can get better' range.
If Johnson sees the drops improve and the formational versatility goes as planned, he could once again be one of the most impactful players on the Saints offense. Who knows, maybe he'll even shed the underrated label.
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