When the New York Giants selected tight end Theo Johnson in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft, it seemed as though the franchise was expecting Darren Waller to retire.
The Penn State product has the size and speed to be a steal, which is what the Giants’ front office saw in him before selecting him.
Head coach Brian Daboll has made it clear to Johnson that he is expecting Rob Gronkowski-level production from his new tight end.
Daboll, who coached and is close with Gronk, has been showing Johnson clips of the retired tight end and expressing a desire to see similar results on the field.
“There’s countless times where we’ll be in the middle of a meeting and he’ll be like, ‘Theo, Dabs wants to see you,'” Johnson told Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com. “Pulls me out of the meeting and I’m like, ‘What could this possibly be about?’
“And then he’s got up a clip of Gronk just running somebody over, catching a back shoulder, and he’s like, ‘This is what we expect from you.’ I can tell he puts a lot of intentional eye into the tight end position … I think it goes to show how he feels about me and what he thinks I’m capable of.”
Coincidentally, Daboll did try to lure Gronkowski out of retirement last offseason.
If Johnson can contribute anywhere close to the level of the future Hall of Famer, the Giants are in for a treat.
