Darius Johnson's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 12 Performance vs. Saints

With Julio Jones done for the year and Roddy White constantly banged up, someone else needed to step up besides Harry Douglas for the Atlanta Falcons.  Darius Johnson was that player for a while on Thursday Night Football, although a mistake late in the game hurt his fantasy performance.

Before fumbling the ball in the fourth quarter, Johnson had six receptions for 67 yards.  However, that fumble moved him to just four fantasy points on the night in ESPN's standard scoring leagues.  He didn't grab another catch in the game, and the Saints went on to win 17-13.

Johnson's role on offense continues to become more important as other players go down, but he's yet to have an explosive fantasy outing.  The most points he's put up came against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10 after catching a 12-yard pass for a touchdown.  Before this game, he had just 10 receptions for 104 yards and that score.

While it may be tempting to add Johnson based off of the lack of weapons for Matt Ryan, the fact that he's yet to truly prove himself makes it tough to pick him up.  Until he can show that he has the potential to be a reliable option, it might just be best to let him sit as a free agent.