I was standing in the middle of the Giants’ practice field after another muggy practice, looking up and staring at 6-foot-6, 259-pound Theo Johnson.
He’s a freshman tight end out of Penn State who is bigger than Mark Bavaro and Jeremy Shockey, and Daniel Jones must be dreaming for a while that Johnson can be what Bavaro was to Phil Simms and Shockey was to Eli Manning.
I asked Theo Johnson if he knew any of the two old Giants tight ends, and I started with Bavaro.
“I’ve heard the name,” he says.
What about Jeremy Shockey?
“Yeah, yeah,” he says.
Have you seen those videos?
“I remember watching a little bit of Jeremy Shockey when he got drafted,” he said, “and I saw a lot of people talking about Jeremy Shockey and his history as a tight end here, so I did a little research.”
He liked what he found.
“I think he’s playing the way he should,” Johnson said.
Sims joked a few months ago that Bill Parcells was always begging Bavaro to pass the ball to him. When Sims retorted that Bavaro was covered, Parcells responded, “You don’t get it, Sims. When you’re covered, you’re open.”
Imagine what a quarterback-friendly tight end could do for Daniel Jones.
“I’m working a lot harder to be a quarterback-friendly guy,” Johnson said. “I think that comes from knowing the playbook inside out, but I still have a lot of work to do on that front. A quarterback-friendly guy is just a guy you can trust, not just a guy who makes the catch, but a guy who’s got to be where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be. So I think once I master the playbook, I’ll be able to be that.”
Bavaro was a very raw and tough player who was running back friendly at the point of attack, and Johnson considers himself a traditional TE with his 4.57 speed and wide catch radius.
“As a tight end, I understand what you do in the run game and what you do in the pass protection game is just as important,” he said.
You are having fun with the blocks.
“Yeah.”
Because you enjoy imposing your will on defenders.
“yes.”
Bavaro was a ruthless assassin. Shockey played with passion and intensity. I asked Johnson if he played with anger.
“I wouldn’t say I play angry, but I have to put myself in a different mode, a different aggressive mindset. You can be aggressive without necessarily being angry. I think when you play angry, you can get a little out of control. So it’s all about controlling your emotions. So I wouldn’t say I play angry, but I certainly play aggressively and I have a way of getting myself into a different mode than I am as I speak to you right now.”
Ask Pat Mahomes about tight end Travis Kelce. Ask Lamar Jackson about Mark Andrews. Ask Jared Goff about Sam LaPorta. Ask Josh Allen about Dalton Kinkaid. Ask Brock Purdy about George Kittle.
“It’s exciting to have such an important role,” Johnson said, “but it also means a lot of responsibility is on your shoulders and as a tight end you have to understand and embrace that.”
Johnson wasn’t happy about falling to the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
“You have to ask all 32 NFL teams why I fell so far,” he said.
A chip on the shoulder.
“I’m going to work and prove that I’m worth more than that,” Johnson said.
He promised Brian Daboll on draft night that he would have no regrets.
“They got me for a bargain,” Johnson reiterated. “They got a guy that works hard every day. I might be a talented guy, but I don’t rely on my talent, I rely on my work ethic and how I approach it every day.”
It sounds a lot like Bavaro when he says, “I think I play with a lot of grit and toughness. I think I play hard and I play the way it should be played.”
In Canada, Johnson was said to resemble Tony Gonzalez. Johnson also liked Rob Gronkowski.
“I feel like I can have a big impact on this team,” Johnson said. “I’m working for a role. Whatever the role is and whatever the pay is, I’m going to be in that role.”
Daniel Jones’ friend is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 259 pounds.
