Sean Payton Talks Possible Role for Bo Nix’s Brother Tez Johnson

What possible vision would Sean Payton have for Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson?

Chad Jensen | Mar 5, 2025

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) rushes up the field Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson's swing through the NFL Combine last week didn't do much to improve his draft stock. Or did it?

The 5-foot-9 Johnson checked in at 154 pounds at the Combine, two pounds lighter than he was a few weeks prior at the Senior Bowl. The expectation was that he would produce a blazing 40 time.

That didn't happen. Johnson's best was 4.51 seconds. But wait, there's more.

Bo Nix's adopted brother ran an impressive 1.53-second 10-yard split, displaying quickness and speed within a 10-yard ceiling and showing how fast a guy can cover ground within the frame of a standard football down. On top of that, Johnson was clocked at 22.17 mph when running a go route during the receiver drills, the fastest among all wideouts at the Combine.

NFL teams will have to do their own research when it comes to Johnson. The puzzle has to include more than his 40 time at the Combine and his diminutive size.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has the inside slant on Johnson, with Nix as a sounding board and intelligence resource. Make no mistake, though; Johnson plays with a chip on his shoulder so big that even Payton can see it way up in the Rocky Mountains.

“Relative to that, you do all your research," Payton said about Johnson at the Combine. "He’s played with a chip on his shoulder his entire career, and that is a credit to him. You evaluate the player and you look at the vision and try to come up with the vision. Then you discuss who he is like and then you go from there.”

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The "vision" Payton spoke to is the role a team would have in mind for a given player, especially one who doesn't check all the prototypical boxes at his position. What role would Johnson have in Payton's rising offense quarterbacked by Nix?

It's hard to say at this moment in time, but even though Johnson didn't run as fast as expected in the 40-yard dash, his mph clocked revealed to NFL teams that speed is not an issue. Johnson is as fast, if not faster, than his fellow wideouts in the 2025 draft class.

The Broncos offense took some big steps forward last season with Nix. But it was a unit still obviously lacking in speed, outside of Marvin Mims Jr. and perhaps Troy Franklin, both of whom took some time to build momentum within the offense.

If Johnson were to follow his fellow former Ducks (Nix and Franklin) to the Mile High City, Payton would have another speed demon to deploy in the offense. Johnson's quickness and footspeed allow him to create separation quickly and get open, something Denver could use on offense.

Nix has been delivering the ball to Johnson in such windows dating back to high school. The Broncos met with Johnson formally at the Combine, so we know there's at least a passing interest in Nix's adopted brother.

Projected to be a fifth or sixth-round pick next month, it wouldn't be a shocker to see Johnson get drafted to Denver. The Broncos don't have a fifth-round pick, but if Johnson is there in the sixth, a round in which the team currently has three selections, Payton could punch his ticket to Denver to be reunited with his brother at the highest level of football.

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