Bucs rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson certainly has a fan in Hall of Fame head coach and Bucs Ring of Honor member Tony Dungy.
While the Bucs’ arsenal of offensive weapons is the envy of the NFL these days with guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, Jalen McMillan and 2025 first-round pick Emeka Egbuka, Dungy made it a point during his appearance on Monday’s Pewter Report Podcast to mention Johnson, Tampa Bay’s seventh-round pick out of Oregon, as another guy who will be a factor for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneer offense.
Former Bucs HC Tony Dungy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“They’ve done a really good job of putting those weapons together, getting some big-name guys, but then having some guys like Bucky Irving, who come in a little bit under the radar,” Dungy said. “I’m going to give you another one, because my son went to Oregon and I’ve watched a lot of Oregon football over the years. Tez Johnson is going to be a factor, too. He’s going to be a guy who’s gonna make some plays.
“To me, that’s what the Bucs have done great. Yeah, it’s great to get that first-round pick and that guy who everybody recognizes, but they have gotten production from all of their picks. Just depth, everywhere. I think they’re in good shape, and I do think Baker’s going to be a great leader for them.”
There’s certainly plenty of reason to be excited about Johnson, who produced at both Troy and Oregon before becoming the final member of general manager Jason Licht’s 2025 draft class. Johnson caught 67 passes for 735 yards (11.0 avg.) and four touchdowns at Troy in 2021, then followed that up with 56 catches for 863 yards (15.4 avg.) and four touchdowns as the Trojans’ leading receiver in 2022.
Bucs WR Tez Johnson Photo by: USA Today
Johnson then transferred to Oregon ahead of the 2023 season and lit it up in Eugene, becoming a star with 86 catches for 1,182 yards (13.7 avg.) and 10 touchdowns that year. He finished off his college career in 2024 with another big season, hauling in 83 passes for 898 yards (10.8 avg.) and another 10 touchdowns as the Ducks won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff.
So, how did a player like that slip down to the seventh round? Johnson is small, as he’s listed on the Bucs roster at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. The smaller receivers who do make it in the NFL often have elite speed, but Johnson doesn’t necessarily have that either. His 4.51 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine ranked 29th out of 39 receivers.
But all it takes is turning on the tape and you’ll see that Tez Johnson simply makes plays. He probably plays faster than that 4.51 speed, and he’s elusive. His yards-after-catch ability is one of his best traits, and it’s something he put on display time and again at Oregon.
Tony Dungy Says Forget The Size, Speed Factors: Tez Johnson Can Play
The tape doesn’t lie, right? Count Tony Dungy among those who subscribes to that thought, especially when it comes to Tez Johnson. In fact, Dungy said one of his earliest lessons as a young assistant coach was to push aside measurables and simply focus on who can play football.
“I’ll tell you what, my first year in the NFL, 1981. I’m a 25-year-old assistant coach, I don’t know anything,” Dungy said. “Chuck Noll, my Hall of Fame head coach, gives me about 15 players to look at and he said, ‘Make your itinerary, go see ’em all and then come back here and tell me what you see. Don’t take a stopwatch, don’t take a tape measure. I don’t want to know how big they are, how fast they are, tell me who can play. And I never forgot that.
“That went to Warrick Dunn, and later on, Dwight Freeney, a 6-foot-tall defensive end. And I think Tez is in that same category. If you just watch him play and look at the production, you’ll say, ‘Man, this guy is something special.’ Well, he’s only this big or only this fast, forget about all of that. This guy’s been super productive and I think he’ll do the same thing [in Tampa].”
Warrick Dunn was a 5-foot-9, 187-pound running back, but he went on to win 1997 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and made three Pro Bowls while rushing for 10,967 yards and 49 touchdowns over a 12-year career. Oh, and he added 4,339 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver, too. As for Dwight Freeney, he was an undersized defensive end who racked up 125.5 career sacks over 16 seasons while making seven Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams. He’s now a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
So, for Tony Dungy to put Tez Johnson in the same category as those two? That’s a high level of praise.
Bucs WR Tez Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
But you can see the connection that Dungy made. Forget Johnson’s height and frame, as well as the fact that he doesn’t have track star speed. Turn on the tape and watch him play, and you’ll see a good football player. The Bucs clearly thought along those lines when they drafted him back in April. And soon enough, it’ll be time for him to take the field and do his best to prove them right.
Watch Tony Dungy On The Pewter Report Podcast
You can watch Tony Dungy’s entire appearance on Monday’s Pewter Report Podcast by visiting PewterReportTV on YouTube or clicking the link below:
