Juwan Johnson preparing for switch to TE (per Nick Underhill) (1 Viewer)

[jagpack]

Sorry if already posted. Used the search function and couldn't find anything.

How do we feel about this? I for one am excited about this possibility, given our lack of depth at TE and what we have seen previously from Johnson.

 

[Swampy Saint]

Juwan Johnson is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He played college football at Oregon and signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2020

 

[Trey W.]

Don’t know much about his blocking skills, but giving his size and athleticism he may be used a lot like Jimmy Graham was. More of the vertical seam splitting TE.

 

[sammymvpknight]

Whatever helps his chances in making the team. He's going to be a tweener either way.

 

[dutar76]

He'll probably need to add a good 15-20 lbs.

Not to brag, but I could give him tips on how to easily do this in a couple of weeks.

 

[Saint Taysom]

Johnson needs to add some bulk and show that he can at least be a willing blocker when called upon. Trautman is the all-around TE, Vannett is the big-bodies blocking specialist, and Johnson could be the vertical threat/move TE that could stretch the seams.
He can be a Dan Arnold/Boo Williams type.
Johnson isn’t as tall or fast as Dan Arnold... or as strong and heavy as Boo Williams was.

 

[Meachemdat]

He's been working out with Trautman and Winston all offseason running TE routes and getting familiar with the position.
Looks like we have a lot of guys out there working on their crafts and not being complacent. I really hope it pays off.

Saying that, what I'm seeing is all offense related. The defense has me very worried going into the season.

Not to derail the thread, but that's my bold prediction for the season: I think the offense will be top 5 with the vertical passing threat back, but I think our defense takes a huge step back. Our secondary is a huge question mark right now, and we don't have the funds or resources to fix it.

 

[Snakehead]

This has been discussed in other threads after there has been little nuggets dropped here and there concerning a potential position change. I've already started compiling data to compare current TEs who converted from WR and ones that are in the process. There is already some inaccurate player size/speed information out there, so this should help clear it up.

Waller is one of the best TEs in the game and currently the most productive converted WR.

Tonyan was a QB, then WR in college and started his conversion to TE in 2017.

Arnold was a WR in college and started his conversion in 2018 with the Saints. He was the lightest coming out of college at 220lbs. He is now in the 240-245 range and said he hasn't been 220 in years.

Horstead was a WR at Princeton and started his conversion with the Bears in 2019. Over the last couple years they have had a lot of TEs, but he's still there developing.

Johnson would be the newest converted TE to WR, but he also has some of the best measurables. At 230lbs, he's not far behind Waller and Tonyan from when they started and he has a 10lb head start on where Arnold started at while being a little shorter with a larger RBS (to start). Johnson is also faster than Arnold and Horstead and the same speed as Tonyan. Waller is way ahead in speed compared to the rest. Johnson vertical was lower and his broad jump was average, but his 3-cone was great. He also has the longest arms, wing span and the largest hands out of all of the former WRs.

His development looks like it may rely on how fast he picks up the position and willingness to block as his size is already there, but another 5-10lbs wouldn't hurt as it would put him in the range of the other converted WRs.

Name	HT	WT	RBS	Hands	40 Time	VL	BJ	20 Yd Shuttle	3 Cone	Arm	WS
Darren Waller	78​	238​	3.05​	9​	4.46​	37​	125​	4.25​	7.07​	33.25​	80.5​
Robert Tonyan	77​	236​	3.06​	10.25​	4.58​	35​	125​	4.34​	7.12​	32.5​	77.25​
Dan Arnold	77​	240​	3.14​	9.625​	4.63​	39.5​	127​	4.3​	6.81​	32.25​	79​
Jesper Horstead	76​	229​	3.03​	9.875​	4.77​	32​	118​	4.16​	6.82​	32.25​	78​
Juwon Johnson	76​	230​	3.03​	10.5​	4.58​	33​	124​	4.37​	6.94​	34.25​	81.63​
Kelvin Benjamin	77​	240​	3.12​	10.25​	4.61​	32.5​	117​	4.39​	7.33​	34.88​	83​
Jacob Harris	77​	219​	2.84​	9.5​	4.39​	40.5​	137​	4.28​	6.51​	33.75​	81.25​

Edit: I added Kelvin Benjamin who is converting to TE from WR after being out of the league. Also, the Rams are converting Jacob Harris to TE from WR. He was at 219lbs for his pro day when he put up stupid numbers, but apparently he's already packed on some muscle/weight and is in the 226 range or so. It will be interesting to see Harris' development at TE as he's a faster/more explosive/athletic version of Waller.

 

[SweetT]

This is great news!!!! I can see JJ being a good threat as a TE.

 

[Snakehead]

This is great news!!!! I can see JJ being a good threat as a TE.

Agreed. It also adds depth to a thin position while clearing a spot for one of the new WRs. It's a bonus that he was on the roster last season so he has 1 year under his belt in the system.

We probably wouldn't be doing this now if we could've held onto Arnold, but he was a victim of the rash of injuries in Dec 2019. If the PS rules from 2020 were in place in 2019, Arnold would be going into his 4th season in the Saints offense and 4th year as a converted WR.

 

[DomePatrol2005]

He'll probably need to add a good 15-20 lbs.

Not to brag, but I could give him tips on how to easily do this in a couple of weeks.

The curious want to know.

 

[SweetT]

Agreed. It also adds depth to a thin position while clearing a spot for one of the new WRs. It's a bonus that he was on the roster last season so he has 1 year under his belt in the system.

We probably wouldn't be doing this now if we could've held onto Arnold, but he was a victim of the rash of injuries in Dec 2019. If the PS rules from 2020 were in place in 2019, Arnold would be going into his 4th season in the Saints offense and 4th year as a converted WR.

True and I’m sure JJ knew he was being converted awhile back. He’s been training all offseason at TE.

 

[Optimistic Ozzy]

He's listed at 230, but I think he's closer to 240, so he'd need to pack on about 10 pounds or so.

 

[saint_drago]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Juwan Johnson is a good sized dude to begin with and he has the frame to add more bulk. SP has a couple TEs who can block so I'm sure he'd like to have a move TE to create some mismatches.

 

[srcampbell]

Sorry if already posted. Used the search function and couldn't find anything.

How do we feel about this? I for one am excited about this possibility, given our lack of depth at TE and what we have seen previously from Johnson.

This is the kiss of death.