Who Should I Start? Cedrick Wilson Jr. or Tez Johnson

Wednesday, March 19, 10:40 PM

The New Orleans Saints reworked wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr.'s contract on Wednesday, cutting his 2025 base salary from $3.4 million to the minimum of $1.7 million, according to ESPN's Katherine Terrell. Wilson's new salary cap number is $1.67 million after he previously counted $3.4 million against this year's cap, but it still voids in 2026. If the 29-year-old wasn't willing to restructure his deal, Terrell got the sense the Saints were willing to move on after Wilson had only 20 catches on 27 targets for 211 yards and one touchdown in 15 games (four starts) in 2024 in his first year in New Orleans. The poor production even came with Chris Olave (head) and Rashid Shaheed (knee) missing time with injuries last year. The Saints will have a new offensive approach under head coach Kellen Moore, but Wilson is still unlikely to be fantasy relevant as receiver depth in the Big Easy in 2025.

Monday, September 1, 11:54 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson could carve out a role on offense as early as Week 1 this season. The rookie out of Oregon could see opportunities to contribute right away with Chris Godwin (ankle) and Jalen McMillan (neck) temporarily sidelined. We saw Tampa Bay support three fantasy-relevant receivers at times last year, so it's safe to assume that could happen again in 2025. Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka are essentially locks to produce right away, leaving Johnson and Ryan Miller vying for the No. 3 role. The early advantage may go to Miller, who started three games (and played in 11 total) last year, so he is familiar with the system. Plus, he led the team in receiving yards during the 2025 preseason. However, Johnson has a promising outlook, too, as he totaled 2,080 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns through two seasons at Oregon. Meanwhile, he had the most targets and second-most receiving yards among all Buccaneers players this preseason. Tampa Bay is no stranger to getting its depth receivers involved, so don't be surprised if Johnson contributes right away. He should be stashed in all dynasty leagues, and he could even have some appeal in deeper redraft formats.