Who Should I Start? Irvin Charles or Tez Johnson

Friday, March 28, 9:10 PM

The New York Jets re-signed exclusive-rights free-agent wide receiver Irvin Charles (knee) to an undisclosed deal on Friday. Charles will return to the Jets in 2025, although it's highly unlikely he'll be ready for training camp this summer or the start of the regular season after tearing his ACL in Week 14 of last year. The 27-year-old former undrafted free agent appeared in 13 games (no starts) in 2024 and was unable to catch his only target on offense. In his two NFL seasons, he has yet to catch a pass on just two targets over 25 games (no starts), mainly contributing on special teams. Charles logged 212 special-teams snaps last year and will likely resume a similar role at some point next year when he's cleared from his knee injury. He's nowhere near the fantasy radar.

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.