Juwan Johnson vs Pat Freiermuth: Who Should You Start?
Two tight ends who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints) finished the 2025 season averaging 8.3 fantasy points per game in 17 games. Pat Freiermuth (Pittsburgh Steelers) came in at 5.5 PPG over 17 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
Juwan Johnson carries a 2.8-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Juwan Johnson is the volume tight end in this matchup with 77 receptions for 889 yards, while Pat Freiermuth profiles as a more touchdown-dependent spike play (4 scores on 41 catches). In weeks where Pat Freiermuth finds the end zone he out-scores Juwan Johnson, but the floor gap is real.
Juwan Johnson has his bye in Week 12, and Pat Freiermuth rests in Week 9. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at tight end for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
