The Rise Of Tez Johnson
November 12th, 2025
Blossoming.
One of the few good things to come out of the loss to New England is the continued development of wide receiver Tez Johnson.
The seventh-round pick this past spring for the Bucs is showing he’s no ordinary dice roll for the bottom of the draft.
Johnson averages 13.4 yards a catch, second to Emeka Egbuka (for receivers with more than four catches). He’s also second on the Bucs in touchdown catches with four, with two Sunday against New England. Egbuka has six.
So why is Johnson developing so well? After the game on Sunday, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said Johnson is going about practices the right way.
“He just continues to do what we ask of him, to be honest with you,” Mayfield said. “He is doing the little things right.
“He is coming alive, and his natural talent is showing in the scramble drill situations where he is never stopping until he finds my eyes trying to get open the whole time. He is doing a really good job of that.”
Can Johnson get even better? Who knows, he’s still a rookie learning how to play in the NFL.
Johnson just goes to show fans that you can throw away the stopwatches at the combine. Football has been, is, and always will be how you play on the football field, not how you do in indoor track practice in Indianapolis in the dead of February.
WR – Tez Johnson
The Bucs will be without Chris Godwin again in Week 11, making Johnson a fringe streamer.
He scored twice last week against the Patriots.pic.twitter.com/y5sj7bi5zx
— RotoWire (@RotoWire) November 11, 2025
November 12th, 2025 at 9:10 am
He has been a pleasant surprise. Had he weighed 15 more pounds and ran 0.1 sec quicker in the 40, he would have been drafted several rounds earlier. Good on the scouting and GM for pulling the trigger.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:12 am
“Johnson just goes to show fans that you can throw away the stopwatches at the combine.”
You absolutely do not, that’s the difference between a guy getting caught from behind and breaking a gain for a big score. Also really easy to confuse short-area quickness/twitch for “speed”, those are not one in the same.
“So why is Johnson developing so well?”
Because we need him to lol what do you mean? It’s not like he’s took snaps from anybody who’s better, he’s been in the game because they premium talent in that room have not been available.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:18 am
Definitely need to scheme him for more receptions. Not sure Grizz is able to do that though. As Tez, himself, described his play, he runs like a squirrel. Get him the ball in the open field. You ever tried to catch a squirrel?
November 12th, 2025 at 9:22 am
Tez Johnson is the Bucs version of Devonta Smith.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:27 am
Tez is the man! Bucs need to take more deep shots to Tez against the Bills, no holding back.
BTW, what’s up with Desmond, who are the Bucs going to sign in his place ? An Edge rusher?
November 12th, 2025 at 9:28 am
Tez has been great!!!
real game time reps are critical for a rookies development…
I think Shep & RW1 are better role players vs starters….imo, they produce more with less snaps, if that makes sense lol….
start Tez and Tucker..
GO BUCS!!!!
November 12th, 2025 at 9:33 am
The 155 lb player can play every game but our stars can’t stay on the field for 10 minutes.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:37 am
“BTW, what’s up with Desmond, who are the Bucs going to sign in his place ?”
Elijah Simmons is doing what I think we wanted from Watson.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:39 am
Tez has earned Baker’s trust by putting in extra time with coach B-Mac. Now Baker is looking for him. I’d like Griz to scheme up more plays where Tez has some YAC opportunities.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:42 am
BucU, not only that Tez is an acrobat in the end zone. lol. I have to think both Evans and Godwin are not coming back this season. If they play next season neither one is going to make it past 4 games. They are both cooked.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:43 am
Bodes well for 26, hopefully we are healthy next year. Would be awesome to have Evans, Godwin, Egbuka, McMillan and Tez healthy. I ain’t giving up on this year, still 8 games to go, but I doubt we will have half of these guys healthy for the stretch run.
November 12th, 2025 at 9:55 am
Tez ran a 4.51 40 at the combine. He ran a 6.65 3 cone drill and 4.15 short shuttle. He ranked first among all WR prospects in both drills which identify quickness and that has translated really well to the football field.
It was a great draft choice by Jason Licht, but I am sure Jason was projecting him as the Bucs 5th or 6th WR. Unfortunately, with the ridiculous number of injuries the Bucs have had he is the #2 WR now. It’s really unfortunate because a relatively healthy 2025 Bucs roster is probably a Super Bowl team.
November 12th, 2025 at 10:21 am
The future WRs of this team are Ebuka, Tez Johnson and JMac if he gets healthy with his neck. We need to draft another WR and use the 45 plus million Evans and Godwin are getting paid on the defense.
November 12th, 2025 at 10:35 am
Anxious to see what he looks like when he reports to training camp next summer and seeing if he has been able to gain some man weight.
IMO he will always be a specialist and it’s clear that he doesn’t understand route adjustments to what the defense is playing after the snap. Until, if he can, he’ll NEVER be on the same page as the quarterback.
I hope to see Garrett Green on the field before the season is over. He understands the game as he is transitioning from a college quarterback to a NFL wide receiver
November 12th, 2025 at 11:00 am
Buc4evr I wouldn’t bet a wooden nickel that Godwin or Evans will be back this season. It’s starting to look like Bucky will be in the same boat. What a disaster this season is turning in to.
November 12th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Tez Johnson will be much more than a gadget player, there were a few times that he was wide open against the Patriots, he also could have had another TD against Detroit if Baker could have hit him.
Johnson is coming on and I believe he will only get better.
November 12th, 2025 at 11:20 am
Still unfair that Chris Godwin potentially had his career ended by an illegal tackle by Roquan Smith. Hopeful that with more time CG14 can make it all the way back. Getting too late this season to expect any help from either ME, CG or JMac. The two biggest strengths of this team WR and O line have been decimated with injuries. Pretty obvious that Baker has been hurt as well, but he will never admit it publicly. Shocked that Grizz hasn’t used more quick inside slants to keep the defensive pressure off of Baker.
November 12th, 2025 at 11:34 am
I watch a lot of college FB and Tez was a player at Oregon. He is quick and fast and there is a difference. Thats why they time the splits in the 40, duh.
Tez is a number 3 because of his size. He can’t be used too much.
Tez, please stop the flips, we don’t need another injury.
As for a wr in the draft, Duce Robinson. 6’6, 225. He has speed to get deep and has nice hands. Hes the closest I’ve seen to ME. Hes a junior, doubt he goes back to play for sorry Norvell.
Duce would give us a broad array of wrs.. However, I doubt JL will look his way.
November 12th, 2025 at 12:09 pm
Oh brother the failed analysts are back like they never failed. Weeks ago when I and a few other were touting Tez it was he has poor hands is too small to do anything yadayada yada. now its he’ll never be anything but a gadget player and cant adjust.
You all should take up knitting. You don’t know ball. We don’t need Tez to be a 1 or a 2. We just need him to every now and again burn defense doubling down on Egbuka. Once you earn the rep in this league the defense has to accommodate their defense to that.
November 12th, 2025 at 12:10 pm
Tez is definitely the future for the Bucs. He is already hitting strides.