TE/FB Jakob Johnson Hits Ground Running for Giants

Jakob Johnson wasted no time in getting on the gridiron for the Giants just hours after signing with the team.

Oct 22, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Las Vegas Raiders fullback Jakob Johnson (45) blocks against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Moving to a new city can be stressful enough as is, but when you’re an NFL player who moves to a new city with training cam more than halfway over and the day before, your team not only has a preseason road game the next day but you’re told you’re going to play?

Welcome to New York Giants’ tight end/fullback Jakob Johnson’s life. 

Johnson, a free agent who was signed off the street in part due to his familiarity with what Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo teaches about blocking and in part because he had a solid background as a player, was thrown into the deep end of the pool without a life raft and acquitted himself rather well, all things considered.

Johnson entered the NFL as part of the International Player Pathway Program in 2019. He was assigned to the New England Patriots, where he got his first exposure to BRicillo, then a coaching assistant who would later progress to coaching the offensive line. 

Although the Patriots had a roster exemption to carry Johnson on the practice squad, he impressed enough to where the Patriots decided to play him in limited snaps on offense, primarily as a blocker. 

In 2022, Johnson, who played his college ball at Tennessee, signed with the Raiders. Their head coach, Josh McDaniels, came from the Patriots coaching tree and had also hired Bricillo to be their offensive line coach. 

As a Raider, Johnson continued to be primarily deployed as a blocker, taking his blocking to the next level. He posted a 100 percent pass-blocking efficiency rating in both seasons (51 pass-blocking snaps) and was solid as a run-blocker, his primary role.

After the Raiders opted to not re-sign Johnson, he waited for the right opportunity to continue his career. Rejoining Bricillo and other familiar faces like Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten in New York apparently appealed to him as much as his skill set appealed to the Giants, who had him hit the ground running.

“It's not easy,” head coach Brian Daboll said of the German-born Johnson’s last 48 hours. “Fortunately, he's had some familiarity with some of the people on our staff. 

 “He's a pro. I've known some people who either coached him or played with him. (Former New England Patriot) James Devlin was a heck of a fullback that I had at New England, who I've maintained a really good relationship with, had a lot of good things to say about him.” 

The Giants haven’t had a fullback/tight end combo on their roster  under Daboll until now. Whether the Giants fcan afford to keep Johnson over say, Chris Manhertz as their third tight end remains to be sorted out, but certainly in his Giants preseason debut Johnson acquitted himself well. 

The 6-3, 255-pound Johnson played in the second half of the team’s 28-10 loss to the Houston Texans as both a lead-blocking fullback and an off-set tight end. 

Among those plays called for him was a misdirection pass pattern, which he did adequately enough, but he was unable to reel in quarterback Tommy Deito’s slightly off-target throw.

Playing in just eight snaps, four as a run blocker, Johnson led the running backs through the holes, one of his face-up blocks arguably the team’s biggest hit of the game, and his 67.2 run-blocking grade from PFF the best of the Giants run-blockers.  

Johnson’s future could very well be that of an H-back, but he will likely need to beat out Chris Manhertz for that third spot at tight end. His performance against the Texans certainly helped him get off to the right start.

“He did a nice job for the plays we put him in there,” Daboll said. “We put in a few plays that he felt comfortable with and that's what we called.”

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