Who Should I Start? Juwan Johnson or Chris Olave

Saturday, January 3, 4:23 PM

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson has enjoyed a breakout campaign in his age-29 season, setting career highs in targets (98), receptions (74), and yards (828) entering Week 18's season finale against the Atlanta Falcons. Johnson has recorded at least four catches in seven straight games and in 12 of 16 contests on the year. His 35 receptions since Week 10 rank fifth most among tight ends. New Orleans is dealing with multiple injuries on offense, particularly at wide receiver, with Chris Olave (illness) and Devaughn Vele (shoulder) both out for this game. The Saints' available wide receivers on Sunday are Kevin Austin Jr., Dante Pettis, Ronnie Bell, and Samori Toure, which sets Johnson up to see a heavy dose of targets. With how well rookie QB Tyler Shough has been playing and plenty of targets up for grabs, Johnson ranks as RotoBaller's TE3 for Week 18.

Wednesday, January 7, 1:15 PM

New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said the team will discuss a contract extension for wide receiver Chris Olave this offseason, according to Erin Summers of NFL Network. "Chris is obviously an important player to us and had a really good season... had a couple of conversations with his agent, that will be part of this offseason," Loomis said. Olave didn't play in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Atlanta Falcons due to a blood clot in his lung, but the 25-year-old former first-rounder should be ready to roll for the start of next season as the Saints' clear WR1. Despite missing the last game of the year, Olave was money for fantasy managers in 2025, finishing as the WR6 in half-PPR scoring with 100 catches (156 targets) for 1,163 yards, and nine touchdowns in 16 games. It was a career year for Olave, and he'll be an early-round WR1 target in 2026 fantasy drafts, especially with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough showing plenty of promise in his first season.