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Should I pickup Tez Johnson or Ted Hurst III as fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 7 of 2026? Read our fantasy football waiver wire outlooks.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be missing their top wide receiver, Emeka Egbuka (concussion/foot), as he recovers from head and foot injuries. He was working off to the side at his team's practice on Thursday ahead of Week 7.
There's a solid chance he can't play in the game, which would make young wideouts Tez Johnson and Ted Hurst III next in line for increased target volume. Both have shown flashes but have yet to put anything consistently great on tape.
There's murkiness around the Bucs offense right now, as starting quarterback Baker Mayfield (thumb) isn't certain to return in Week 7 yet. But you should always try to roster the No. 1 receiver for any offense, even if they're only the top wideout for a week. So should you grab Johnson or Hurst on waivers?
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Tez Johnson Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook
Johnson had some nice flashes in his rookie season last year, including in game where he had four catches for 42 yards and two touchdowns. But that iteration of the Buccaneers offense was much better than the one this season.
Tampa Bay's 2026 offense is a shadow of its former self. No part of the offense is working well, except running back Bucky Irving on rare occasions. The passing attack has been abysmal whether it's been Mayfield or undrafted free agent rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels in as signal caller.
Tez Johnson is WIDE open for another Bucs big gain!
@TBvsDAL on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/yilGqjeFzj— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2026
Also, 33 percent of his fantasy points this season came on the above play, which was a horrendously busted defensive coverage by the Dallas Cowboys. They're one of the NFL's worst defenses this year. Johnson's playing time hasn't been great this season.
He has zero games with 60 or more percent of his team's offensive snaps, and was under 40 percent in both of his last two games. Maybe that number goes up due to Egbuka's injury, but it's not encouraging.
Tez Johnson COOKS Daron Bland. Bland is the 10th highest paid CB in the league https://t.co/vJ8R6BQMiJ
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) October 9, 2026
Johnson's low snap rate could be due to his diminutive size. He's a detriment as a blocker, since he's just 165 pounds. He's one of the NFL's lightest receivers, so playing against physical outside cornerbacks against non-terrible defenses isn't his specialty.
Ted Hurst III Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook
Hurst, on the other hand, has a solid role with the team, even though he's a rookie. His snap rate dipped markedly after his first three games, but remained higher than Johnson's on average. Last week, he played 50 percent of the team's offensive snaps.
He's spent time playing as the Bucs' X receiver, and has more targets, receptions, receiving yards, snaps, routes run, and touchdowns than Johnson. That makes the choice pretty obvious. The dip in playing time isn't the best sign, but it's hard not to think he's the guy to pick up.
Ted Hurst III's first career TD 🗣️
@MINvsTB on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/vwmtGgBFFi— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026
Should I Pickup Tez Johnson or Ted Hurst III For Fantasy Football?
It's better to just follow the production here. Hurst is probably going to lead the team in targets among WRs in games that Egbuka doesn't play in. We don't know yet if the Bucs WR1 will be out for Week 7, but there's no harm in grabbing Hurst just in case.
Bucs Rookie WR Ted Hurst has a chance to be Special... https://t.co/dd9T99C8ZV
— RealBucsTalk (@RealBucsTalk) September 16, 2026
He's also made the more impressive plays this season, including a long catch-and-run for a touchdown in the earlier clip and the above tough catch and hold while being hit.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Tez Johnson, Ted Hurst III, Omar Cooper Jr., Germie Bernard, Keenan Allen:
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