George Kittle or Juwan Johnson: Who Should You Start?

The call

• Role is not in question: 81% snap share and a 19% target share over 11 games in 2025 make Kittle the centerpiece of this passing game whenever he's on the field, and consensus still slots him TE7 at 8.4 projected points.
• The only thing holding this back is availability — the sheet lists PUP-P with a normalized status of unknown. You cannot lock a lineup around a player who may not be activated, and there is no confirmation here that he plays.
• Matchup and script are neutral-to-fine: the Rams grade 17 of 32 vs the position (though on a 0-game sample with zero confidence), and a 22.8 implied total with a 3.0 spread points to a competitive game rather than a run-out-the-clock blowout.
• Tip it to start the moment he's activated off PUP and taking a normal snap load; if he stays on the list or is limited in his first week back, take the streaming TE with a defined role.

The call

• Role is locked in: 75% snap share and an 18% target share over 17 games make him a genuine part of the New Orleans passing game, not a situational blocker.
• Game script helps — as a 7-point underdog with a 20.8 implied team total, the Saints should be throwing late, and Johnson is the type of short-to-intermediate outlet that inherits those looks.
• The cap is the concern: TE16 at 8.8 projected points is the fringe of startable, and the Detroit DvP composite sits at a middling 19 of 32 with a 0-game sample, so there's no matchup edge to bank on.
• Tipping point: start him if your alternative is a sub-15% target share streamer; sit him if you have a top-12 TE with a defined red-zone role.