Tez Johnson Better Than Expected
January 26th, 2026
Flippin’ good.
If Bucs receiver Tez Johnson has a career anywhere close to the following example, he will become of the great steals of the Bucs era run by Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
Joe usually believes seventh-round draft picks are nothing more than draft litter. And if a team is banking on a seventh-round pick to make an impact, that doesn’t say much for a team’s starting-22.
Well, the Bucs weren’t banking on Tez making an impact. Joe’s pretty sure they wanted him to return kicks, something the team decided very early on he wasn’t it (or maybe he is, and the dumb special teams coach the Bucs fired didn’t know any better?).
But because of injuries, the Bucs needed Tez and he delivered. At least, much more so than one would expect from a seventh-round pick.
Tez has the second-most touchdown catches for a rookie seventh-round pick (five) since the merger (1970). The only rookie seventh-round pick with more touchdown catches is  Marques Colston with the slimy Saints, who had eight.
Colston won a Super Bowl with the slimy Saints, catching passes from Drew Brees. In six of his first seven seasons, Colston had over 1,000 yards receiving.
Tez only had 322 yards passing. He started half the season, eight games. Colston, by comparison, started 14.
But if Tez becomes anything close to where Colston is, he will be one helluva draft pick by the Bucs.
