Leave it to the Buccaneers to have the most productive seventh-round pick in the NFL in 2025.
We all know about Tampa Bay's young, rookie reciever Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka has been incredible this year, easily on pace to win offensive rookie of the year. He'll likely be WR#1 in Tampa Bay for the next decade. However, nobody could have seen his fellow rookie coming out of the seventh round and doing what he has done this season.
Tez Johnson, drafted 235th overall, now has 4 touchdowns and 255 receiving yards. More impressive is that Johnson did not catch a pass till Week 3, when he caught one pass for eight yards. In his past six games, he's gone for 247 yards and found the endzone four times.
Is Baker Mayfield working the same magic on Johnson that he worked last year on Sterling Shepard? Or is Johnson actually just a good reciever, breaking out in his own right?
It's probably a combination of both. Johnson is clearly more talented than your average seventh-round receiver, but he's not a day one draft pick in any world. While Johnson is probably better than where he was drafted, Mayfield is also playing a big role in Johnson's breakout 2025 campaign.
Having a quarterback with the confidence and the capabilities of Mayfield certainly must be helpful for a young receiver. It also helps that Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Jalen McMillan literally can't stay on the field this year due to injuries.
No matter who he has to thank, it's cool seeing Johnson play at such a high level. Tampa Bay needed someone to step up, and Johnson did. His two touchdowns against New England nearly were enough for the Buccaneers to pull off the upset win. Tez Johnson is here to stay, and while he will never be on Egbuka's level, he can definitely be a productive wideout in this league.