Start Mark Andrews or Juwan Johnson? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start Mark Andrews over Juwan Johnson in Week 1.

Juwan Johnson is priced by the books at 4.3 projected points and Mark Andrews is not priced at all, so we are leaning on where drafters take them. Drafters take Mark Andrews at ADP 146 and Juwan Johnson at 161.

What the books imply

No sportsbook posted a player market for Mark Andrews in Week 1.

Player prop markets imply 4.3 fantasy points for Juwan Johnson, with 40 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

Week 1 matchups

Mark Andrews and BAL visit IND.

IND allowed 12.6 fantasy points to TEs in its one game this season, the 16th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 66 yards and no touchdowns against IND.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Juwan Johnson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Mark Andrews was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Juwan Johnson was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Mark Andrews played 17 games for BAL and scored 131.0 PPR points, 7.7 a game, finishing TE16.

He caught 48 of 70 targets for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets and 321 air yards.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Mark Andrews, Week 18 of 2025 against PIT: 3 targets and 2 catches for 14 yards, 3.4 PPR points.

Mark Andrews, Week 17 of 2025 against GB: 31 of 76 snaps, 4 targets and 4 catches for 28 yards, 6.8 PPR points.

Mark Andrews, Week 16 of 2025 against NE: 24 of 55 snaps, 1 carry for 3 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 21 yards, 4.4 PPR points.

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.

How Week 1 went

Mark Andrews scored 8.9 PPR points and Juwan Johnson scored 14.4.

The call was wrong: Juwan Johnson outscored Mark Andrews by 5.5.

Mark Andrews, Week 1 against IND: 49 of 68 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 49 yards, 8.9 PPR points.

Mark Andrews finished as the week's TE20 in PPR scoring.

Juwan Johnson finished 10.2 points above the 4.3 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.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start Dallas Goedert over Mark Andrews.
• Start Dalton Kincaid over Mark Andrews.
• Start Mark Andrews over David Njoku.
• Start Juwan Johnson over Brenton Strange.
• Start Juwan Johnson over Dalton Kincaid.
• Start Juwan Johnson over Hunter Henry.