The New York Giants are a team in need of some rebuilding, and former Penn State tight end [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag] is clearly a part of that vision for the future. If it wasn’t already evident by the Giants using a fourth-round draft pick on Johnson, new headlines coming out of the Giants media suggests the team is preparing for the retirement of tight end Darren Waller.
When Johnson was drafted by the Giants in the 2024 NFL draft, the Giants were already awaiting a decision from Waller about his future plans. Waller was considering retirement at the time, so the Giants may have felt the need to use a draft pick on a tight end anyway, if not specifically for the 2024 season, then for the next few years. We speculated at the time of the draft pick that Johnson could potentially be moving into a possible starting job as a rookie as a result.
So, will that now be the case, as Waller is reportedly expected to retire?
Well, that remains to be seen. The Giants have made other offseason moves to address the tight end situation with or without Waller in addition to drafting Johnson. The Giants signed Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz, each with previous starting experience in the NFL with their previous teams. If nothing else, it at least takes the pressure off of Johnson to start right away and gives him a little bit of time to prepare for the starting job under some veterans in the short term.
But the Giants are not expected to do much in the 2024 season, so it could make sense to throw Johnson right into the starting mix and see how he does. It could be a risky move if things don’t go well, but if the only way to get better is with experience, then the Giants have almost nothing to lose by starting Johnson in 2024 and allowing the free-agent signings to guide him along the way.
The Giants open a minicamp next week, which is when the Waller retirement decision is expected to be made official.
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