The Denver Broncos drafted one of Bo Nix's former Oregon teammates in Troy Franklin. Could they do the same for his adopted brother in 2025? If you do not know the story of Tez Johnson and the Nix family, this clip can get you up to speed:
Tez Johnson and Bo Nix are more than just former high school and college teammates, they share a bond that goes much deeper than football.@MartySmithESPN shares how one difficult decision by a mother has bonded two families and allowed Tez to live out his dream ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7nZ6MljP1f
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 1, 2025
It's one of the best stories in sports today, and with the Broncos having drafted one of Nix's teammates in Troy Franklin back in the 2024 NFL Draft, it is not crazy to think that they could also draft Tez Johnson. Johnson was also at the draft party for Bo Nix.
Well, in the Senior Bowl thus far, Tez Johnson has been flat-out cooking defenders, winning one-on-one matchups with ease:
Here is every one-on-one rep by Oregon WR Tez Johnson during Day 1 of the Senior Bowl: pic.twitter.com/GuyF11UnSP
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 28, 2025
Tez Johnson's biggest issue, and it's a notable one, is his size. He is about 5'8" and 160 pounds.
Yeah, not great.
Size doesn't matter for Tez Johnson 💪 pic.twitter.com/cMsUArlR6K
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 29, 2025
When his official measurements were posted by the Senior Bowl account, many people reacted in a frenzy, saying that Johnson was simply un-draftable given how small he is. And while I would not disagree with the idea that Tez Johnson's size is going to limit him in the NFL, I am not sure the player is 'un-draftable.'
Let's give credit where it's due; people were catching Tez Johnson. He is simply too fast for many of those defenders out there, so if you ask me, size goes out the window if you can simply out-run players and also run sharp routes. Tank Dell has popped up as a comparison for Johnson. Dell was a recent draft pick by the Houston Texans.
He stands at 5'10" and 165 pounds, so he's a bit bigger than Tez Johnson. When Bo Nix and Johnson were both at Oregon in 2023, Johnson caught 86 passes for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2024 when Nix left for the NFL, Johnson still caught 83 receptions for 898 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He's played 62 college games and has caught 310 passes for 3,889 yards and 28 touchdowns, averaging 62.7 yards per game across his collegiate career. Thus far, it appears that Tez Johnson is very much a draftable player, and with the Denver Broncos needing more help at wide receiver, they should strongly consider drafting the adopted brother of Bo Nix.
Denver is going to add to their wide receiver room in some form this coming offseason. I could see a scenario where they again address the room in free agency and in the 2025 NFL Draft.