Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson is on the path to the 2025 NFL Draft, where he’ll aim to claim early-round capital with his scouting report.
Can Johnson be the latest undersized WR to defy the odds and the conventional views? Here’s the latest on his stock.
Tez Johnson’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’10”
- Weight: 160 pounds
- Position: Wide Receiver
- School: Oregon
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
His full name is Keyonteze. His honorary last name might just be “Nix.”
Johnson experienced hardships growing up, to a level not many can empathize with. He grew up in the projects of Birmingham and lost his father early to suicide. His mother tried her best to provide for him, but as he grew up, avoiding the struggles of the community was becoming more and more difficult.
When Johnson came to Pinson Valley High School, he was a sub-150-pound kid who would sometimes get into trouble. But on the football field, his teammate Bo Nix saw potential, and he relayed that potential to his coach and father, Patrick Nix.
Johnson’s mother and the Nix family would eventually collaborate on an agreement where Johnson would stay with the Nixes to steady the ground beneath his feet and give him an environment to flourish in.
Now, Johnson calls the Nixes his adoptive family. Bo — who was selected 12th overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2024 NFL Draft — is unofficially his adoptive brother.
Growing up alongside Bo, Johnson was able to similarly live out his dream of playing college football. He signed with Troy as a three-star recruit out of high school, and after several seasons of high-level production, he transferred to Oregon in 2023 to play for his favorite childhood team with his favorite quarterback.
Sharing targets with Troy Franklin, Johnson was still able to amass 86 catches for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns catching passes from Nix. And now, he’s on the early-round radar entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle.
At the very least, what Johnson has worked through is a testament to his resilience and drive for NFL teams. But past that, his play on the field holds plenty of merit.
Johnson’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Instant accelerator with unique long-strider range and blistering deep speed.
- Able to throttle up on demand and attack open zones with his searing explosiveness.
- Energized short-area mover who can offset with rapid feet and then capitalize with burst.
- Sheer speed can spook defenders upfield, as well as make him a potent vertical threat.
- Has the bend and flexibility to sustain speed through sharp route breaks and curves.
- Flashes elite hip sink and swivel freedom on intermediate comebacks and hitches.
- Has the hip fluidity to stack quick transitions on double-moves while keeping speed.
- Has shown he can use intentional eyes and efficient footwork on slants and crossers.
- Can displace defenders with delayed split releases, then explode inside for RAC chances.
- Able to extend beyond his frame and snare tough catches with diamond hand technique.
- Boasts size-defying toughness and composure at the catch amidst contact and contest.
- Can make acrobatic, high-difficulty catch leverage adjustments at a moment’s notice.
- Electric RAC weapon with combined speed, foot quickness, fluidity, and move arsenal.
- Can erode tackling angles and pry through imbalanced attacks with slippery athleticism.
- Has the versatility to be used as a movement-Z off motions and be schemed touches.
Weaknesses
- Is very underweight for the position, which can affect play strength amidst physicality.
- Has average length at best, which can impact his catch radius in contested situations.
- Isn’t always able to pry through opposing extensions and supplement stem separation.
- At times, can be more controlled with his throttle and pad level when pressing upfield.
- At times drifts too far into his defender’s frame when attempting second-level releases.
- Can be more deliberate with his head and hips on double moves to properly sell DBs.
- Wasted motion at the top of stems sometimes causes routes to take longer to develop.
- Despite promising separation foundation, can better sync his hips and feet at times.
- Doesn’t always sink his hips far enough on whip routes, stalling acceleration off breaks.
- Has below-average contact balance, and is more often a threat with space to work.
- At his size, is naturally not an imposing presence as a run blocker and has low impact.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Johnson grades out as a top-64 prospect who could field consideration in the early-to-mid Day 2 range. Johnson bears some similarity to Tank Dell as a prospect, and that should only invite excitement from NFL teams.
On the surface, there’s naturally a degree of apprehension to be had with Dell-like prospects. Johnson is 5’10”, 160 pounds — woefully underweight at any level of football. But at that size, he’s undeniably dynamic, and he brings size-defying toughness and catching skills.
Much like Dell did as a prospect, Johnson boasts body control, hand-eye coordination, and resolve as some of his most prevalent strengths. He has target-funnel skills but also functions as a hyper-elite athletic and RAC threat with rare speed, burst, agility, twitch, and fluidity.
There’s still room for Johnson to keep refining his skill set as a separator, but all of the requisite building blocks are present, and he’s a good route runner as is — with active DB manipulation tactics, angle freedom and sink, and a diverse route tree and usage pallet.
Johnson will never be an elite contested threat, and he’ll never provide much value as a run blocker, so that part of his game must be schematically insulated. But he can survive against tight coverage, and he ultimately has the separation and RAC framework to give defenses fits.
As a movement-Z receiver in a scheme that insulates his limitations as a blocker, Johnson has the tools to be a transcendent three-level threat at his size, with the dynamic ability to catalyze an offense.