Anthony Rivardo
Giants third-year tight end Theo Johnson worked as one of Jaxson Dart’s most-targeted options through OTAs and mandatory minicamp, with his stock trending up across the spring. The third-year tight end has spent the offseason cementing a role that looked uncertain the moment the Giants opened their checkbook in March.
New York signed former Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely to a three-year deal worth up to $47.5 million, a move that read like a ceiling on Johnson’s playing time. The spring has pointed the other direction.
From Fourth-Round Flier to a Real Piece of the Giants’ Passing Attack
The Giants drafted Johnson 107th overall out of Penn State in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, and his rookie year ended early when a foot injury sent him to injured reserve after 29 catches for 331 yards and one touchdown. In 2025, Johnson caught 45 passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns, establishing himself as the most productive pass-catching tight end on the roster and one of Dart’s favorite targets.
| Season | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (rookie) | 29 | 331 | 1 |
| 2025 | 45 | 528 | 5 |
The production curve is exactly what a developmental fourth-rounder is supposed to draw. The Giants found a starting-caliber tight end on a rookie contract, which is the kind of roster economics that lets a front office spend elsewhere.
The Drops Are the Tax on the Breakout
Johnson tied for the most drops by a tight end in 2025 with seven, and five of them came on third down, per PFF. His 58.0 overall PFF grade ranked 33rd among 37 qualified tight ends, and his 62.0 receiving grade landed 30th in the same group. The yardage says ascending starter; the efficiency metrics say a player who left drives on the field.
Cleaning up the third-down drops is the difference between a complementary piece and a weekly mismatch. That is the gap a second-year jump is supposed to close, and it is the one thing standing between Johnson and the leap the coaching staff is betting on.
Why the Likely Signing Confirmed the Role Instead of Capping It
Isaiah Likely followed John Harbaugh from Baltimore on a contract reportedly worth $40 million over three years, and on paper, that buries a fourth-round tight end. However, the scheme says otherwise. The modern NFL has leaned harder into 12 personnel, with teams using two-tight-end sets on 22.34% of snaps in 2025 versus 17.36% in 2022, and a Harbaugh offense built around heavy formations needs two capable tight ends on the field at once.
That math turns Likely and Johnson into running mates rather than a starter and a backup. Likely is the moving pass-catcher who can flex into the slot; Johnson is the bigger in-line option who already showed he can win as a target. Both fit the same package, which is why Johnson’s spring reps never dried up after the signing.
The Giants spent real money to upgrade the position and still cannot afford to take Johnson off the field. A tight end who outproduced his draft slot in year two, on a rookie deal, inside a scheme that wants two of him: that is the kind of value a contender protects. Year three is where he turns the role into a number defenses have to account for.
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