Who Should I Start? Xavier Restrepo or Tez Johnson

Tuesday, November 25, 10:00 PM

After spending the first 11 weeks of the 2025 season on the Tennessee Titans' practice squad, rookie wide receiver Xavier Restrepo finally made his NFL debut in Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks. The 23-year-old earned six targets from Titans quarterback Cameron Ward and hauled in two receptions for 26 yards. Restrepo's path to game action was aided by injuries to Titans wideouts Calvin Ridley (leg) and Elic Ayomanor (hamstring). Ridley will miss the rest of the season, while Ayomanor could return as soon as Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, if Ayomanor remains sidelined, Restrepo could have another chance to prove himself against Jacksonville. While fantasy managers will need Restrepo to play more than the 19 offensive snaps he played in Week 12, in some ways, it's encouraging that he was able to log six targets despite the limited playing time. Restrepo can't be trusted as a fantasy starter yet, but he could be worth monitoring for deep-league fantasy managers if the wide receiver injuries in Tennessee persist.

Tuesday, December 16, 3:50 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson was forced into meaningful snaps in his first year in the NFL this year due to injuries to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., and Jalen McMillan. In a five-game stretch from Oct. 5 to Nov. 9, Johnson was on the fantasy football map with 18 receptions on 27 targets for 247 yards and four touchdown catches. In five games since then, though, as the Buccaneers' receiving corps has inched closer to full health, Johnson has caught just five of 10 targets for 32 yards and one touchdown. Evans, Godwin, and McMillan have all returned from their injuries, leaving the seventh-rounder out of Oregon near the bottom of the WR depth chart to close out the season. Johnson has not caught a pass in the last two games on just one target, and he has just one catch for five yards in the last three games. The 23-year-old played 15 snaps in last Thursday's loss to Atlanta, his lowest snap count since his Week 1 debut.