It’s that time again.
Fantasy football is back with Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, and the pesky lineup decision on which tight ends to start and sit will be a fun one yet again at maybe the most frustrating position in the game.
If you drafted one of the top few guys, like Trey McBride or Brock Bowers, you have no such decision. You plug them into your lineup every week and move on.
If you waited on TE, though, you’ll be looking closely at the rankings each week to decide what to do.
One of the hottest-trending names leading into Week 1 this year at the tight end position is New Orleans Saints TE Juwan Johnson.
Johnson is coming off the best season of his NFL career. In 17 games, he caught 77 passes for 889 yards and three touchdowns.
He set his career-high in targets (102) along with the catches and the yards.
Prior to that, his best season had been 2024, with 50 grabs for 548 yards and three TDs.
Frankly, you might even be able to expect a better touchdown output from Johnson. For the big, athletic tight end to score just three times on 77 grabs last season is quite the apparent outlier.
This year, Johnson will try to build on all of that starting on Sunday, Sept. 13 when the Saints play in Detroit against the Lions in the early afternoon window.
If you drafted Johnson, you’re probably at least thinking about playing him in your first fantasy matchup of the year.
Should I Start Juwan Johnson In Fantasy?
The general lean here is that it’s a super borderline start-sit call.
ESPN has Johnson ranked No. 14 among tight ends in PPR formats this week, but two of their individual analysts have him ranked as high as No. 10.
Among the tight ends above Johnson: Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Jake Ferguson and Tucker Kraft.
Just below Johnson are T.J. Hockenson and George Kittle.
Middle of TE Rankings
Clearly, at that point in the TE rankings, there’s a lot of variance that will mostly be determined by which player does or doesn’t get into the end zone.
Johnson, based on last season, may have a slightly tougher time scoring TDs compared to some of these other guys — but if you had to guess, it might turn into a shootout in Detroit, if the Saints can keep up.
In Week 1 specifically, it’s pretty safe to go with a simple strategy: If Johnson was the first tight end you drafted, start him unless there’s some obvious change in plan that changes your pecking order. If you drafted Johnson as your backup, though, leave him there and let your supposed TE1 get a chance to prove himself first.
Obviously, there’s no psychology connecting your fantasy team to the NFL players, but that’s the simplest way not to overthink it.
Should I Start Juwan Johnson in Fantasy? Saints TE Rankings Spot Raises Sit Question