Giants’ Theo Johnson envisions ‘bigger role’ as he’s ‘full-go’ for sophomore campaign

From finding his groove, to spiking his shoe.

Theo Johnson had just begun making headway as a rookie before a Thanksgiving foot injury ended his 2024 season.

The tight end hauled in career highs in catches and yards, but the Giants fell to the Cowboys and Johnson sustained the injury, prompting a shoe spike.

“I was already not happy with the outcome, and then finding out the injury right after just kind of added insult to injury on that,” Johnson said after Friday’s training camp session. “I was starting to hit my stride. … Everything was starting to come together.”

But now the Penn State product is “back full-go” with “no restrictions or limitations” heading into his second season.

And for all the strides he made toward the end of his first season, he envisions even more ahead of him.

“I think that I can definitely step into a bigger role this year and add a little bit more value than I did last year,” he said. “Last year was a lot of growing and kind of just jumping off the deep end.”

He was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 draft after scoring 12 career touchdowns for the Nittany Lions and tallying nearly 1,000 receiving yards.

The 6-foot-6, 264-pound monster’s game goes beyond just catching the ball.

Head coach Brian Daboll called Johnson a “tireless worker” and said it’s hard to find tight ends who can block as well as Johnson does, “particularly coming out of college.”

But for Johnson, it’s nothing new.

“That’s how I got on the field as a freshman in college is being able to block,” the 24-year-old said. “Blocking first was kind of the mentality of Penn State and that’s something I bring with me here to the next level.”

What is new to him, though, is veteran quarterback Russell Wilson.

Johnson called Wilson’s energy “infectious,” and though there’s a “learning curve” for getting on the same page as the 36-year-old, he thinks they’re in a good spot.

As Daboll said, “it’s only the second day” of training camp, but Johnson’s health, versatility and a new trusty vet could have him well on his way to a strong Year 2.