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Receiver Tez Johnson made the most of his playing time as a rookie, with 28 receptions for 322 yards, an 11.5-yard average, and five touchdowns. ©Jefferee Woo
Every trip to the end zone is starting to look the same for Tez Johnson. Catch the touchdown pass. Stick the backflip. Make the spectacular seem routine.
That’s been Johnson’s gift throughout the first week of training camp. In a crowded receivers room, even after Mike Evans’ departure to San Francisco, the former seventh-round pick from Oregon keeps refusing to be overlooked, turning one touchdown after another into the strongest argument that he belongs.
It happened twice during training camp Thursday.
“I kind of knew because we had two of them (Wednesday) and I dropped one of them,” Johnson said. “I wanted to make sure I caught this first one ... and once I saw the ball, I wanted to make sure it was mine or nobody else’s. Great ball from (backup quarterback) Jake (Browning) and Jake trusts me to showcase my talent.
“The backflip, they wanted it. I kept hearing it in special teams. I was like, ‘If I score I’m going to do it’ and I just did it.”
At 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, Johnson is one of the smallest receivers in the league. He was expected to serve primarily as a kick returner in his first NFL season and was even a longshot to make the team.
But Johnson kept showing up in the end zone. He finished his rookie season with 28 receptions for 322 yards, an 11.5-yard average with a long of 45 yards. More impressively, he finished with five touchdowns, only one fewer than Emeka Egbuka, the club’s first-round pick from Ohio State.
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New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson on Tez Johnson: “He doesn’t have the size, but he has the speed to stretch. ... Having speed and having space in this game is dangerous."
Evans’ production, which included 11 straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons before injuries limited him to only eight games last season, will have to be made up in the aggregate.
Egbuka figures to be the primary target for quarterback Baker Mayfield. He started fast with 445 yards receiving and five touchdowns in his first five games. But Egbuka’s production trailed off, especially after injuries to Evans and Chris Godwin. He had only one more touchdown and eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in a game only one other time the rest of the season.
Jalen McMillan played in only the final four regular-season games after suffering a fractured neck in the first preseason game at Pittsburgh. McMillan still managed to show some flashes, capped by a seven catch, 114-yard receiving game at Miami.
“We spent a lot of time training together,” Godwin said of McMillan. “He’s got a huge personality. He’s a huge energy guy, an unbelievable talent. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people, but just because he wasn’t able to show a ton last year with his injury. But I think when you get to see him healthy and the way he’s really able to stretch the field, I think he’s very excited to show what he can do.”
The Bucs also are high on rookie Ted Hurst, the 6-foot-4, 206-pound rookie from Georgia State who is a true X receiver like Evans.
“I would say there definitely is a new energy,” Egbuka said. “With Mike leaving, some of the guys know the opportunity that’s on the table and they’re able to rise to the occasion. I’ve seen J-Mac take a lot of steps. We’ve kind of been doing it side-by-side. I love having his energy on the field. I just feed off of him, he feeds off me and it’s great. And then Chris is in that steady role as that older vet that we can look to that’s been doing it for a long time and even the young guys who have come along.
“I think Tez has done a great job to this point. Tez is just lightning in a bottle as he’s always been.”
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Tez Johnson's signature move after touchdowns is a backflip. He's already been breaking out the flips in training camp.
But how does Johnson get onto the field as a receiver? He certainly has become a deep threat with his speed and hands. Johnson is versatile but seems at home at the Z or flanker position.
“Tez can also play the X,” new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “He doesn’t have the size, but he has the speed to stretch. That’s what I would say, having speed and having space in this game is dangerous. As for Tez, I can see him getting on top of DBs. He didn’t run a fast 40 (yard dash) but Tez Johnson is fast. He plays fast. That’s the big thing about it.”
Johnson says he is better prepared to navigate the long NFL season this year. He’s rewarded faith in him by running good routes and catching the football.
“I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable, I would say I’m more confident,” Johnson said. “I’ve definitely got an even bigger chip on my shoulder because I got a taste of it the first year. I’m thankful my teammates and my coaches pushed me through the mental part of it and that’s mainly the meetings and the grind of the season. It’s so long but you enjoy it. It’s your dream. You do it.”
As a rookie, Johnson earned Mayfield’s trust. This year, he has earned a chance to be a bigger part of the game plan. Already, he and Mayfield are in synch.
“That’s that extra confidence that I love, that I get from him,” Johnson said. “Baker trusting me to go deep and throwing the ball to me … just to know that your starting quarterback, one of the best, just trusts you to be in the right spot, that’s mainly what’s important to me."
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