Eric Johnson, TE New Orleans (1 Viewer)

[numberSE7EN]

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...hl=eric+johnson

Above is a link to a discussion about late round TE's, Johnson is briefly discussed, but I want to have a conversation about him in particular, not all late round TE's.

Eric Johnson is #1 on the depth chart in NO, with M Campbell at #2. Assuming Johnson plays 16 games, I don't see why he cant be a top 12 TE. (5th-12th most likely)

PROS:

-Is the starter and does not have any major competition

-Has Drew Brees as his QB (Who helped make Gates the unquestioned #1 overall TE in the NFL *fantasy wise)

-Has Colston, Henderson, McAllister, Bush to take the DEF's attention away from him

-Has shown he can put up big stats: 2004: 82 catches for 825 yds and 2 TDs

CONS:

-Missed all of 2005 and missed 3* games last year

*had 0 catches in two other games last year

-There are a lot of other targets in NO and the TE may not be the priority.

With that said, I feel Brees will look to Johnson a lot this season, especially in the RedZone like he did with Gates. I have Jason Witten and Eric Johnson on my team, and every day that goes by I feel like I should trade Witten and be happy starting Johnson. Tell me why I am wrong....

All input more than welcome-

 

[BroadwayG]

Who was the NO tight end last year?

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Who was the NO tight end last year?

Conwell, IIRC

 

[Mystery Achiever]

looking at one of my leagues, it was conwell, miller, campbell; all ranked in the 40s for TE fantasy points....

looks like conwell only played the 1st 6 games or so, and then miller came in, but the rankings i gave are weekly avg, so adjusted for that

 

[buck naked]

1) Repeated history of injury.

2) This is not San Diego, the offense and coaching philosphies are much different.

3) Johnson is also a far cry from Gates. If I'm Brees, I'm throwing to the best player on the field in Gates. In NO, Bush, Colston, Henderson, McAllister are all better players than Johnson. He's at best the 4th option.

4) There is often an adjustment period between QB and receiver. Johnson will have to fight through that.

 

[BLOX]

I think the important thing to remember here is that you don't have to have him as your #1. He will be available late as your #2 TE.

There's potential as he has proven when healthy that he can be a solid safety valve for a QB. Brees is a smart enough QB to utilize his safety valves when that's all the defense will allow.

In other words, Johnson will be a nice play some weeks, but will be way too inconsistant as a starter and that's only if he can stay healthy. I hope he can as it will be interesting to watch what happens.

 

[saintfool]

He has the dreaded label of "upside". The problem is the tremendous unknown surrounding him in that role of the team. Buy him cheap and see what happens. He's playing on a one year contract, I believe. His motivation to excel will be there, no doubt.

 

[mozzy84]

nice article about him from todays ap. I like him myself in NO, no real proven receivers besides a second year guy in colston, if he plays the whole year he will be top ten and the nice thing is he will be drafted as your backup anyways.

With tight end Eric Johnson, Brees has yet another target

By BRETT MARTEL - AP Sports Writer

2007-08-13 20:45

JACKSON, Miss (AP) -As versatile as the New Orleans Saints' NFL-leading offense was last season, their tight ends saw relatively few throws from quarterback Drew Brees.

Over the winter, the Saints' most significant free-agent acquisition on offense was Eric Johnson, who, when healthy, was among San Francisco's most productive receivers.

``He's someone that when you study his career, and he's played and stayed healthy, he's been a real talented receiving tight end,'' coach Sean Payton said. ``He's someone who has good hands, good instincts, and he has a good feel for the passing game. He's from a similar system, so there was a good fit there.''

Brees, who had extraordinary success with tight end Antonio Gates in San Diego, connected with Johnson on two of his 12 completions in last Friday night's preseason game. During training camp, he's looked for Johnson when the team practices plays near the end zone, and Johnson is rarely dropping balls.

``He's really hitting a comfort zone,'' Brees said. ``He's going to add a great element to what we're doing here offensively.

``I've always had some pretty good tight ends to throw to going back to the San Diego days. I think that's always been at the top of my mind,'' Brees said. ``Usually your tight end is one guy who is matched up one-on-one. It's hard to double the tight end because there are so many other guys. ... It's exciting to know when you get down to the red zone. There is definitely traffic down there, but when you trust a guy's ability to catch the ball, you'll throw it in there.''

 

[The Hank]

Just picked him off of waivers and dropped Jason Snelling.

Saints TEs all year last year had:

45 rec, 420 yds, 1 TD

-----------------------------

I think that if the TE option for Brees remains consistent, I think that 50 rec., 500 yds, and 3-5 TDs isnt a reach for Johnson to get. This would give him 68 - 80 fantasy points in most leagues. Definitely worth a flier in a late round or off of waivers.

 

[Sweetness_34]

Eric Johnson just has too many other competitors to fight for the ball.

Reggie Bush, Deuce Mcallister, Jon Karney all catch balls in that offense as RB/FB

Meachem, Copper, Colston, Patten will all get theirs

Add to that other TEs catching the ball and you just cannot expect TE1 production from him. When he caught 80+ balls with the Niners, the Niners had no real WRs etc to compete against him. Look around the league....most of the top TEs - Gates, Gonzalez, Heap, Crumpler have always had bad WRs on their team hence making them very productive. That is not the case here where Bush is like a WR too.

Be careful.....very careful

 

[BLOX]

Eric Johnson just has too many other competitors to fight for the ball. Reggie Bush, Deuce Mcallister, Jon Karney all catch balls in that offense as RB/FBMeachem, Copper, Colston, Patten will all get theirsAdd to that other TEs catching the ball and you just cannot expect TE1 production from him. When he caught 80+ balls with the Niners, the Niners had no real WRs etc to compete against him. Look around the league....most of the top TEs - Gates, Gonzalez, Heap, Crumpler have always had bad WRs on their team hence making them very productive. That is not the case here where Bush is like a WR too. Be careful.....very careful

Not to hijack,but let's say Vincent Jackson and Craig Davis become legitimate WR threats. Would Gates still get his, or would he finally be removed from the top spot?

 

[Gadfly]

He has the potential for a big season. But, with his injury history, you better carry a solid backup.

 

[kevthegrad]

You should be. I love this guy. Had him the year he caught over 80 balls for Frisco. Had to move on in the years that followed obviously but when healthy he's great...Todd Heap-like.

Anyway, good luck, I hope he does wlel.

 

[surferguy]

He has good value as a late round draft. I had him in his big year in SF and he can definately play, if he can stay healthy.