Juwan Johnson lobbies for Saints to sign Noah Fant: 'It'll get us going, man'

It's easy to see why the New Orleans Saints want Noah Fant. He's looked good in black and gold before, having come out of the same Iowa-to-NFL factory that sent tight ends like T.J. Hockenson, George Kittle, and Sam LaPorta to the pros in recent years. The former first-round pick visited New Orleans on Friday after previously meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he hasn't signed anything just yet.

Count veteran starter Juwan Johnson among the number who'd like to see Fant stick around. A tight end himself, Johnson sees Fant as a great fit in the offense rather than competition for his services. Kellen Moore has called a lot of passes to his tight ends in previous stops, and there's no reason to think the coach won't keep it going with the Saints.

“He can add so much,” Johnson told reporters after Friday's training camp practice. “One, he can add a lot of explosiveness to the offense and I’d be extremely excited to have him here. I mean, you've had guys like Ben Watson, Jimmy Graham here before. You've had guys like that before that's really been explosive. And so you can just think of things like that. I'm not going to go the whole, like, Gronk and Aaron Hernandez thing. ... But that's the kind of potential something like that can have.”

Their stats are surprisingly similar. Over the last three years, Fant has played in 48 games, catching 130 passes for 1,400 yards and scoring five touchdowns. In that same span, Johnson has appeared in 46 games, catching 129 balls for 1,424 yards with 14 touchdowns. Johnson has taken some heat from fans for only showing up in garbage time; when trailing in the fourth quarter, he's caught 29 receptions for 307 yards, with four touchdowns. Fant has caught 30 passes for 293 yards and scored three touchdowns. That's a wash.

Obviously there's more going on here than their raw numbers. Fant has been asked to do more with the ball in his hands; his average depth of target the last three years is 6.2 yards, and he's paced 5.6 yards before contact per catch with 5.2 yards gained after the catch per reception. Compare that to Johnson, who has, on average, been targeted further downfield (8.2 yards) which has led to more yards gained before contact (6.9) but fewer yards gained after the catch (4.2). Johnson has broken more tackles (7, to Fant's 3) but he's also dropped more passes (9 against Fant's 3). More downfield opportunities has helped Johnson convert more first downs (75) than Fant (65), too. The point is that each player has made plays for their offense, but they've gone about it in different ways.

For his second point, Johnson says Fant would bring some camaraderie to the tight ends room: "Having a guy like Noah here walking around the facility adds a vibe. ... I think it'd be so good. It'll give, honestly, the locker room a good boost and it'll get us going, man. Like I said, it's never like a competition. It's more camaraderie and collaboration. And that's something that I've always took the approach of when you see guys added into the room."

Would Fant add more to the offense? Sure. He could fit right in as a safety valve in the short area who can reliably catch a pass and fight through contact to pick up a first down. His role wouldn't overlap much with Johnson as more of a vertical threat who can bully smaller defensive backs and pick up chunks of yards at a time. There's a world where they can coexist. But is that worth the price for the Saints? Fant left town without a deal after his visit on Friday so he's at least considering his options. We'll have to wait and see whether he circles back for a teamup.