If you’re wondering why Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson, if he is as good as everyone say he is, dropped all the way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round, it’s pretty simple.
The answer is — about 30 or so pounds.
Concerns about Johnson’s weight, at 5-foot-10 and 154 pounds, sent his draft stock plummeting. And that might be valid, because the moment he steps on the field for the Buccaneers he’ll become the lightest player in NFL history.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski thinks Johnson might have the talent to overcome any and all concerns, and predicted he could even end up getting snaps over another rookie wide receiver in first round pick (No. 19 overall) Emeka Egbuka at some point in 2025.
“How can Johnson even consider the possibility of outplaying Egbuka, who the team selected with this year’s 19th overall pick?” Sobleski wrote on June 5. “The Ohio State product was the most polished route-runner in this year’s class. But he’s not viewed as an overly explosive receiving threat. Johnson may not have tested particularly well, but he’s lighting in a bottle when it comes to creating separation and shaking defenders in short areas. He can make plays all over the field, which should garner him more and more opportunities as the season progresses.”
Buccaneers Received ‘A’ Grade for Drafting Johnson
Sobleski gave the Buccaneers an “A” grade for picking Johnson. Tampa Bay began and ended the 2025 draft with wide receivers with Johnson as their final pick and Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka as their first round pick (No. 19 overall).
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are vying to become the NFL’s No.1 overall offense after adding first-rounder Emeka Egbuka and seventh-rounder Tez Johnson to a wide receiver room that already featured Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan,” Sobleski wrote on April 26. “The NFL has become far more forgiving when it comes to smaller wide receivers. Coaches find ways to utilize talented targets who know how to get open and create after the catch.”
Johnson was a stats machine over 5 seasons of college football at Troy and Oregon. With the Ducks, he teamed up with older brother and Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix in 2023 and ended his career with 31 total touchdowns — 28 receiving, 2 on returns and 1 rushing.
Johnson Shined at Senior Bowl Practices
Johnson was one of the biggest standouts at Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama, and drew several comparisons to Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell.
“Tez Johnson was once again reportedly ‘the best WR in attendance’ for a second day in a row today,” NFL Rookie Watch wrote on its official X account on January 29. “Johnson was reportedly ‘burning DB’s left and right; and was too twitchy for some defenders to handle. Multiple scouting sources reportedly believe Johnson is just ‘becoming a clone’ of Tank Dell in the pre-draft process.”
Dell is probably a really good comparison as he’s also undersized at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds. Dell was selected in the third round (No. 69 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft after running a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Johnson was just a step slower at the combine, running the 40 in 4.51 seconds.
