‘He’s doing a great job’ – Russell Wilson praises underrated Giants teammate bound to break out due to a game-changing factor originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
The New York Giants will need contributions from unexpected sources if they want their offense to improve in 2025. One player who can make a big leap is second-year tight end Theo Johnson.
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After today’s joint practice with the New York Jets, quarterback Russell Wilson provided context for why he could have an important role.
Wilson praises Johnson for his work ethic
The Giants drafted Johnson out of Penn State 108th overall in the 4th round in the 2024 NFL Draft, hoping he could emerge as a dynamic offensive weapon. His athletic tools didn’t match his college production, as he only had 938 career receiving yards.
However, his blazing 4.57 at the 2024 NFL presented a vision for a player who could emerge as an offensive weapon in a few years.
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Fast forward to 2025, and his quarterback, Wilson, is noticing his impact after a few weeks of training camp.
“He’s doing a great job. Theo’s doing an unbelievable job of just stepping up, being confident, making plays. His confidence has been continually rising, and his ability is just getting better and better.”
Wilson is expected to start under center in week one against the Washington Commanders, so establishing chemistry with his tight end will be integral to their hitting the ground running. Wilson pointed out how they’re already fostering a strong relationship.
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“I think he really knows what I want him to do and he’s practicing it, he’s worked at it, we’re talking about it, we’re working at it at walk-throughs and practice obviously, getting extra time.”
The final promising aspect of Wilson’s comments was Johnson’s attention to detail in practice. Wilson acknowledged that Johnson has made a point of getting extra work in throughout practice.
“If you ever notice, Theo gets all this extra work on the side throughout practice and I think that’s valuable work and just the dialogue – I think any time you have a great quarterback-receiver relationship, -tight end relationship, it’s communication, it’s vision, it’s feel and it’s just making plays as well.”
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In the Giants’ first preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, he finished with two catches for 10 yards while on the field with the first team. It will be very exciting to see if he can boost that production this Saturday against the Jets.
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.