Giants vs. Texans features two potential rookie stars at tight end

The New York Giants head down to the Lone Star State this Saturday afternoon to face the Houston Texans in Week 2 of the NFL preseason.

There are loads of backstories to follow in this game including Daniel Jones’ first game action since last November and Houston’s sudden emergence as a Super Bowl contender.

One backstory many may have missed focuses on two rookie tight ends, both who played in the Big Ten and were taken in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft.

The Giants drafted Penn State’s Theo Johnson with the 107th overall selection. The Texans followed that with Ohio State’s Cade Stover 16 picks later.

The Giants took Johnson in response to Darren Waller’s expected decision to retire. Yes, they were looking to add a tight end or two this offseason but they could not pass up on the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Johnson in the fourth round.

Stover was taken mainly for his connection with Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud, his college teammate. Stroud apparently lobbied the Texans’ front office to draft Stover. It worked.

Johnson seems to be a developing player that could go either way. Boom or bust, they call it. The Giants are readying for the boom.

“He’s smart. He’s a young professional, a true pro, loves the game,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Johnson at the outset of training camp.

“Has good size. Can bend. Can run. Obviously tested really well. But had a really good pro day, too, at Penn State, moving around, running his routes, hitting the bag. You can only get so much out of it. You can tell his bend, you can tell he’s athletic. He’s a good guy we thought we could work with.”

Johnson began camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list with a hip flexor issue but only lasted a short while. When he came back, he hit the ground running.

The Giants know that Johnson can catch the ball in space and go. What they need to see — and what will determine his playing time — is Johnson’s ability to block.

That question was answered quickly when the Detroit Lions came to town. Johnson was pitted against the Lions’ star defensive end, Aiden Hutchinson, and more than held his own.

“That was a big part of my job at Penn State,” Johnson said of his blocking. “We took a lot of pride in it. We had those big packages, three tight ends, two running backs. I do enjoy it. It’s something I take a lot of pride in and something I’m going to continue to work at every day.”

Stover has also garnered praise this summer from his coaches. Originally recruited as a linebacker, Stover went on to become the second most-prolific tight end in Buckeyes history. In 2023, he was named Big Ten Tight End of the Year.

“Cade has been the guy we saw on tape at Ohio State, just tough,” DeMeco Ryans said, via KPRC 2. “Making tough competitive catches, finishing strong with the football. Like the couple plays he made in the game last Thursday (in the Hall of Fame game versus Chicago), it’s cool to see a guy you see in practice, but you’re never quite sure how they’re going to respond when they get in the game, but it was cool to see Cade just be who Cade has been.”

Stover appears to be a complete tight end, much like what the Giants believe they might have in Johnson. The two have similar mindsets and it will be interesting to see the two on the same field this weekend.

“Right now, the hardest part of this is just the mental toughness of it all,” said Stover. “Physical toughness, you either have it or you don’t, in my opinion. I always felt like I was bred in that area with things and that is just how it happens naturally. Just play after play, that is how we roll.”