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The New Orleans Saints will officially kick off their regular season 83 days from now. The Saints will be on the road to start their year, traveling to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Veteran tight end Juwan Johnson enters his seventh year with the team with the No. 83 jersey.
Johnson is coming off his best year as a pro, doing so directly after a lucrative contract extension. He’ll be a big part of the Saints offense again in 2026. He’s also our Saints Player of the Day, so here’s a look at his entire career to date.

Name (age): Juwan Johnson (29)
Hometown: Glassboro, N.J.
Position: Tight end
Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 231 pounds
College: Oregon Ducks
Relative Athletic Score: 7.79
Drafted: Undrafted in 2020 (Saints)
NFL experience: 6 years
2026 salary cap hit: $7.61 million

Out of Glassboro High School in New Jersey, Johnson initially attended Penn State as a wide receiver. He’d see little action for the Nittany Lions as a freshman in 2016, catching just two passes but gaining 70 yards. Johnson was a much bigger part of the Penn State attack in 2017, pulling in 54 receptions for 701 yards. His production diminished the following year with 25 catches and 352 yards over 10 games of action. Following the 2018 campaign, Johnson transferred to Oregon. In his one year with the Ducks, Johnson pulled in 30 passes for 467 yards and 4 scores over 10 games.
Undrafted in 2020, Johnson was signed by New Orleans. He started his rookie season on the practice squad as a wide receiver but saw seven games of action and made four starts down the stretch of the year, making 4 catches for 39 yards. Johnson saw more action in 2021, playing in 14 contests and catching 13 passes for 159 yards and 4 touchdowns. Twelve of his 13 receptions would result in a first down or score.
A wide receiver throughout college and the NFL, Johnson made a position switch to tight end during 2022 training camp. The change resulted in making 12 starts over 16 game appearances while playing 65% of the offensive snaps. Johnson had 42 receptions for 508 yards with the increased playing time. His 7 touchdown catches led the team and were third-most among all NFL tight ends. In 2023, Johnson missed some time (4 games) with injuries. He still managed 37 catches for 368 yards and 4 scores.
The 2024 season saw Johnson playing in all 17 outings. He made just five official starts, but played in a career-best 697 offensive snaps. Johnson had 50 receptions for 548 yards, both the highest of his career, while catching 3 touchdowns. He led the Saints in receiving yardage and finished second behind Alvin Kamara in catches. Last offseason, the Saints re-signed Johnson to a three-year contract extension that included guaranteed money of over $21 million.
Johnson proved more than worthy of the Saints faith in him last season. He had the best year of his career by far, pulling in 77 of 102 targets for 889 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns, with 41 of those grabs resulting in a first down. What’s even more impressive about those career-best numbers is the fact that the New Orleans receiving corps was down to practice squad players and free agents signed directly off the street. Despite that, Johnson remained consistently productive.
Juwan Johnson will be a big part again of a New Orleans attack that added more weapons at running back, wide receiver, and tight end this offseason. While the offense won’t necessarily need to lean on Johnson now, his connection with quarterback Tyler Shough and downfield receiving skills should lead to another productive campaign.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Juwan Johnson is the Saints Player of Day 83
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