Start Juwan Johnson or Brenton Strange? Week 1
Locks at kickoff, graded after.
Start Juwan Johnson over Brenton Strange
Right: 14.4 to 10.3- Books imply
- 8.8
- fantasy pts
- DET D vs TE
- 27.7
- 2nd most to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 84%
- Week 1
- Target share
- 13%
- Week 1
- Scored
- 14.4
- PPR pts
- CLE D vs TE
- 12.2
- 16th fewest to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 68%
- Week 1
- Target share
- 14%
- Week 1
- Scored
- 10.3
- PPR pts
Our Week 1 call
Start Juwan Johnson over Brenton Strange in Week 1.
Juwan Johnson is priced by the books at 8.8 projected points. Brenton Strange has no player market posted for this week, so his side of this call rests on consensus ADP and the news wire only. Drafters take Juwan Johnson at ADP 168 and Brenton Strange at 187. Market coverage on Juwan Johnson is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.
What the books imply
Player prop markets imply 8.8 fantasy points for Juwan Johnson, with 70 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.
No sportsbook posted a player market for Brenton Strange in Week 1.
Week 1 matchups
Juwan Johnson and NO visit DET on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
DET allowed 27.7 fantasy points to TEs in its one game this season, the 2nd most in the league.
Tight ends caught passes for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns against DET.
Brenton Strange and JAX host CLE.
CLE allowed 12.2 fantasy points to TEs in its one game this season, the 16th fewest in the league.
Tight ends caught passes for 32 yards and a touchdown against CLE.
By points allowed to the position, Juwan Johnson has the softer matchup.
Injury status
Juwan Johnson was not on the injury report when the call was made.
Brenton Strange was not on the injury report when the call was made.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025, Juwan Johnson played 17 games for NO and scored 179.9 PPR points, 10.6 a game, finishing TE8.
He caught 77 of 102 targets for 889 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 8 red zone targets and 527 air yards.
He was on the field for 76 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Juwan Johnson, Week 18 of 2025 against ATL: 5 targets and 3 catches for 61 yards, 7.1 PPR points.
Juwan Johnson, Week 17 of 2025 against TEN: 39 of 54 snaps, 4 targets and 4 catches for 95 yards, 13.5 PPR points.
Juwan Johnson, Week 16 of 2025 against NYJ: 51 of 78 snaps, 9 targets and 8 catches for 89 yards, 16.9 PPR points.
In 2025, Brenton Strange played 12 games for JAX and scored 118.0 PPR points, 9.8 a game, finishing TE23.
He caught 46 of 60 targets for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 9 red zone targets and 293 air yards.
He was on the field for 76 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Brenton Strange, Week 18 of 2025 against TEN: 6 targets and 6 catches for 52 yards, 1 touchdown, 17.2 PPR points.
Brenton Strange, Week 17 of 2025 against IND: 56 of 69 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 54 yards, 8.4 PPR points.
Brenton Strange, Week 16 of 2025 against DEN: 52 of 70 snaps, 7 targets and 5 catches for 39 yards, 1 touchdown, 14.9 PPR points.
How Week 1 went
Juwan Johnson scored 14.4 PPR points and Brenton Strange scored 10.3.
The call was right: Juwan Johnson outscored Brenton Strange by 4.1.
Juwan Johnson finished 5.6 points above the 8.8 the props implied.
Juwan Johnson, Week 1 against DET: 76 of 90 snaps, 7 targets and 3 catches for 54 yards, 1 touchdown, 14.4 PPR points.
Juwan Johnson finished as the week's TE7 in PPR scoring.
Brenton Strange, Week 1 against CLE: 39 of 57 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 23 yards, 1 touchdown, 10.3 PPR points.
Brenton Strange finished as the week's TE15 in PPR scoring.
Their other Week 1 calls
The board cards are draft figures, not the week's call. Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 1, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.
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