The Saints lost to the Rams at home on Sunday afternoon of Week 13, and they also lost the versatile Taysom Hill ($5,000; 9.7 FPTS) to a season-ending knee injury. With Hill the latest in a long line of Saints’ injuries this season, there should be plenty of work for tight end Juwan Johnson ($3,100; 8.6 FPTS) moving forward, which makes him a nice addition from the waiver wire heading into NFL Week 14.
The bad news on Taysom Hill
As was feared, Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury while running for a first down on the Saints’ final possession of their 21-14 loss to the Rams.
Tests today confirmed that Saints TE Taysom Hill is out for the year with the knee injury he suffered Sunday, per source. pic.twitter.com/Iq3CbEqM2N
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 2, 2024
Before leaving, Hill had a team-high 37 receiving yards and was tied with Johnson for the team lead in receptions and targets. He also ran for 10 yards on five carries.
Without Hill, there will be more work at multiple positions since he moved around and did so many things in different aspects of the Saints’ offense.
Juwan Johnson’s potential
Johnson had five catches on seven targets on Sunday, totaling 36 receiving yards. No other pass-catcher had more targets or catches than Johnson, and only Hill had more receiving yards.
Johnson has multiple catches in nine straight weeks and matched his season-high with his five catches against the Rams. He found the end zone for the second time this season against the Browns in his previous game before the Saints’ bye in Week 12.
The Saints are already without receivers Chris Olave (concussion), Rashid Shaheed (knee) and Bub Means (ankle), who are all on IR and Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($4,600) is serving as the team’s top receiver.
While MVS will likely get more work as well, Johnson will have an opportunity to step up as a top target for Derek Carr ($5,100), who has always relied on his tight end throughout his career.
This week, Johnson is only $3,400 in DFS contests like the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. He brings touchdown-dependent upside and a high floor against the Giants, who have been good against tight ends this year but very beatable overall.
The Bottom Line
While I don’t think Juwan Johnson is a top-ten option this week, he is a solid play if none of those players are available in your league. You can also use him as a depth option since he should get steady work the rest of the season with so few options in the Saints passing game.
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