Analyze Juwan Johnson's matchup for week 10
Johnson’s arrow is pointing up with 4–6 targets a game and a Panthers defense allowing 11.5 fantasy PPG to TEs, making him a safe TE2 stream with red-zone upside.
Carolina has bled 444 yards and 4 TDs to tight ends through six games, ranking in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points surrendered to the position. Johnson’s 78% route participation and 6'4" frame match up well against a Panthers unit that has struggled to cover the middle of the field and inside the 20.
After a quiet start Johnson has averaged 4–6 targets and 78% route share the last several weeks, building on last year’s career-best 50-548 line and becoming a trusted red-zone option for the Saints.
Juwan Johnson enters Week 10 as one of the few tight ends with both a steady floor and legitimate touchdown upside. His recent usage—at least four looks in every game since the bye—shows the coaching staff and whichever quarterback is under center have grown comfortable treating him as a safety valve and situational mismatch. At 6'4" and north of 230 lbs, Johnson’s size makes him a natural weapon inside the 20, and the Saints have obliged by keeping him on the field for nearly four-fifths of the passing snaps. That combination of opportunity and snap share is rare once you get past the top-five names at the position, and it gives him a scoring probability most waiver-wire tight ends can’t match.
Carolina’s defense has quietly been a fantasy funnel for opposing tight ends, surrendering the eighth-most receptions and seventh-most yardage to the position through Week 9. The Panthers play a heavy Cover-3 shell that leaves the intermediate middle open, and their linebackers have struggled with eye discipline when tasked with carrying vertical routes. Johnson’s improved route-running—he’s no longer just a box-out player but is actually creating a step of separation on digs and seams—puts him in position to exploit that void. Add in New Orleans’ renewed emphasis on 12 personnel to help a young quarterback, and you have a setup where Johnson can stay on the field even if the game script turns negative.
The final piece is opportunity cost. By Week 10 most fantasy rosters are dealing with injuries or byes at tight end, and the position has been so volatile that a locked-in 6–8 point floor with 15-point ceiling is gold. Johnson gives you exactly that profile against a defense that has already allowed four tight-end touchdowns and shows no signs of adjusting its coverage philosophy. Fire him up as a low-end TE1 in deeper leagues and a comfortable TE2 stream anywhere you need one.