Tez Johnson

Rookie year: 28 catches, 322 yards, 5 TDs — 17.9% TD/catch rate is more than double the 2025 WR average.

Tampa Bay drafted Johnson out of Oregon as a 165-pound slot/return specialist and got immediate red-zone production: 5 receiving TDs on 28 catches — 17.9% of his receptions went for scores. The 2025 league-wide WR TD/rec rate is 7.83%, so Johnson converted at 2.3× the average despite operating as a secondary option.

For context: 28 catches for 322 yards is a solid WR4 line; 5 receiving TDs on those 28 catches is a high-leverage WR2 outcome.

At 165 lbs, Johnson is one of only 7 active NFL WRs at or below that weight — and he out-touched all but two of them.

Only 7 active WRs in the league share Johnson's weight class or lighter. Most are return-only weapons or fringe roster spots. Johnson absorbed 44 targets as a rookie — more than any of those six peers — while scoring 5 TDs.

The entire cohort survives in the NFL through motion, speed, and scheme — not contested catches. Johnson's 2025 target volume proves Tampa Bay used him as a genuine offensive weapon, not a gadget.

First multi-TD game came in Week 10 vs New England — 4 catches, 42 yards, 2 TDs.

The trajectory through midseason is clean: 2 TDs across Weeks 6-7, 2 more on the Week 10 NE breakout, 1 more vs the Rams in Week 12. Bowles trusted him with 9 targets in Week 7 vs Detroit — a real workload-spike on a primetime stage.

5 of his 28 receptions were TDs — 1 in every 5.6 catches.

The 2025 WR league average is 7.83% of receptions going for scores. Johnson's 17.9% as a rookie is 2.3× the league average, and the volume (28 catches) is large enough that it isn't a 2-target fluke.

The rookie line — 15 games, 44 targets, 28 catches, 322 yards, 5 TDs — is the kind of small-but-spiky season that converts to a real 2026 role if the targets climb. Mike Evans is 32 and Chris Godwin is on a contract year-style trajectory; Johnson is positioned for more snaps.

All 5 TDs and 34 of 44 targets came in Weeks 5-12 — then 7 targets and zero TDs in the final 5 weeks.

Johnson's entire rookie impact is compressed into an 8-week window (Weeks 5-12): 34 of his 44 targets, all 5 TDs, and every game of 40+ yards. After Week 12, he received just 7 targets across 5 games and zero scores.

The fade raises the core question for 2026: was it injury/health, scheme adjustment by opponents, or Tampa's own playcalling rotation? If it's option 1 or 3, he's a genuine sleeper. If opponents figured him out, the route-tree has to expand.