Is This Giants Tight End Going to Have a Breakout Year?
Giants tight end Theo Johnson may just have his breakout season this coming year. There have been many factors coming into play, but he has been standing out at OTAs already. The Giants have been watching and so have many others as he has made a bounce back from what last season looked like for him. During his rookie season, he had a great start. He recorded three receptions and 35 yards in each of his final five games before his season ended. This was due to a Lisfranc injury to his foot that had occurred on Thanksgiving day when the Giants took on the Dallas Cowboys. Following that he finished the season off with 29 catches for 331 yards and a touchdown in 12 games.
Since then, he has made a full recovery and has been making strides over the past week. The coaching staff and other members have already stated that he is looking bigger and more daring this offseason. OTA’s for Johnson have been fantastic and there will be more to come when it comes to them going to mandatory minicamps. They say that Johnson is moving just fine.
Johnson doesn’t have very much competition when it comes to starting this season. There are only two other tight ends that he needs to worry about and that is Daniel Bellinger and Chris Manhertz. Each one is reliable but they don’t have all of the abilities that Johnson does. Bellinger was drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has great blocking skills and can also cover as a fullback if needed on the field. So far he has accumulated 69 total receptions for 648 yards and two touchdowns over the course of his career. It’s still not enough to fill the shoes of this position full-time. Manhertz is an 11-year veteran who has been on several different teams during his time in the NFL. This veteran has played in 137 games, accumulated 29 receptions for 301 yards, and scored a total of three touchdowns. He has blocking prowess and he brings experience to the tight end room already. Last season, he did not see much action either.
However, It has already been stated that Johnson will be the starter for the Giants in Week One as per the team's head coach Brian Daboll. This 24-year-old tight end is finding rhythm with the Giants' new veteran quarterback Russell Wilson and with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who may start mid-season this year. He’s already an asset to the Giant's offensive line because he can be both a pass-catcher and someone who can block. Both of these components are already something big for the Giants. They’re areas that the team has struggled in.
Several analysts already believe that he will have his breakout year later this season. He’s one of the top players listed to make things happen. It won’t be until later during the 2025 NFL season that he will surge, but it will be something different that the Giants have been looking for. This tight end will bring an increased amount of involvement because of his size, speed, and athleticism all wrapped up into one. The Giants have someone great, now they just need to get him back into motion.
