What Tez Johnson Does for the Buccaneers

Bucs take a 7th round flier on a dynamic, diminutive playmaker.

The Buccaneers concluded their 2025 NFL Draft class by giving Oregon receiver Tez Johnson his chance at 235th overall in the 7th round.

Johnson, who happens to be best friends with Bucs running back Bucky Irving, is far from the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but he is an electric playmaker who produced his entire college career despite being a historic outlier.

Let’s see what makes Johnson worth a shot.

Tez Johnson Career Stats

Johnson endured a tough childhood that actually saw him adopted by the family of current Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. They grew up like brothers and played high school football together, with Johnson garnering recognition as a 3-star recruit.

He played his first three college seasons at Troy, garnering significant volume as a slot receiver and returner while also getting schemed touches as a runner. He built enough of a profile to transfer to Oregon and reunite with Nix, and he proceeded to log 86 receptions for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Ducks.

With Dillon Gabriel at the helm in 2024, Johnson maintained his production with 83 receptions, 898 receiving yards and another 10 scores, and that was despite missing two games with a shoulder injury.

Johnson finished his entire 5-year collegiate career with 62 games played (40 starts), logging 310 catches, 3,889 yards and 28 touchdowns. He accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl and terrorized defensive backs all week, with more than a couple people calling him “unguardable.”

Athletic Testing

Johnson’s game is predicated on shiftiness and quickness. As such, his straight-line speed isn’t elite but his explosiveness and agility certainly are.

His pedestrian 40 time (4.51 with a 1.58 10-yard split) is buoyed by his absurdly good 3-cone (6.65) and shuttle (4.15). He added excellent jumps into the mix (37” vertical, 10-foot-11 broad).

However, Johnson is a historically small. He’s a lithe 154 pounds, which is on record as the third-smallest receiver ever. Tank Dell, to whom he’s most often compared, is also very small but even then has 10 pounds and more muscle on Johnson despite being shorter. Dell is also faster and more applicable downfield, which definitely drove their difference in draft position (Dell was a third rounder for Houston).

What Kind of Player is Tez Johnson?

Johnson is a Sonic the Hedgehog-like blur with his foot quickness and ability to bounce and jerk defenders around in their efforts to keep up with him. Winning downfield isn’t as important when you can consistently leave people in the dust at the line of scrimmage.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Johnson immediately has some of the best stop-and-start ability of anyone in the pros. It’s near-instantaneous between when he catches the ball and when he takes off and gets up to speed. It’s the biggest reason why pure deep velocity isn’t as much of a problem for him.

He’s an open-field YAC master who’s utilized well on schemed touches, which the Bucs have used a good bit the last couple years, as well as screens, slants, and other shorter routes.

Those same qualities also make Johnson an excellent candidate for punt return duties, which the Bucs are looking for (and have been for a long time).

Now the caveats.

Johnson still has work to do as a route runner, as just scrambling defenders with pure quickness isn’t going to work as well against professionals. There’s a careful balance between using his agility and maintaining a tighter, more concise approach, and that will be a key to unlocking more playing time.

While he cut his drop rate way down in his final season, he struggled in prior years with double clutching and focus drops that will need to be closely monitored. His touches early on will be limited early on if he makes the team — he will have to make them count.

Conclusion

Seventh rounders are always longshots, but a lot of people bought Johnson’s talent in their evaluations (several prominent analysts dog-eared him as a 4th or 5th round prospect) so there’s some good belief he can outplay this draft slot.

The difference between a returner / gadget guy and full-fledged weapon in a crowded offense will depend heavily on Johnson continuing to expand the technical aspects of his game and buttoning up the inconsistencies.

Let your opinion be known below, Bucs Nation.