Emeka Egbuka #9 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on during the 2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rookie Mini-Camp at AdventHealth Training Center on May 09, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.
The Buccaneers turned plenty of heads in April by drafting star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 overall. Despite a loaded wide receiver room, especially considering that they should be getting a healthy Chris Godwin back for Week 1, Tampa Bay felt that they couldn’t pass up on a talented player like Egbuka. After watching Egbuka work this offseason, Bucs veteran Mike Evans shared strong praise for the rookie. Evans called Egbuka “a very polished, very well-rounded player” who “looks like a running back,” but “catches like Chris Godwin,” according to Kevin Patra, Senior News Writer at NFL.com.
Bucs May Need ‘Very Well-Rounded’ Rookie to Contribute Right Away
One thing that Bucs fans are most looking forward to is their young offensive talent, especially at receiver. The “very polished, very well-rounded” rookie Emeka Egbuka is the best example so far. Even with his high-level production in college, many were surprised that Tampa Bay selected him in the first round. It even surprised his teammate, Mike Evans, writes Patra.
“I didn’t [expect to draft a receiver] either, but you know Jason has always been great in drafts, and we wanted to pick the best players available, and from what I’ve seen so far, he was definitely the best player available,” said Evans. “So, looking forward to a great year for him, Emeka.”
Egbuka has clearly caught the attention of Mike Evans this offseason. Any time you receive praise from a guy with 11 consecutive seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards, it’s a great sign.
With high-level talent in the receiving room, Bucs GM Jason Licht notes that first-year offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard may be tempted to institute more of a rotation.
“Well there is a rotation as well,” Licht said, according to ESPN‘s Jenna Laine. “We can play with four wide receivers, as well. There [are] a lot of things that [new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard] is licking his chops about right now. You can’t have too many good ones.”
“Godwin played 87% of snaps before going down with the injury, up from the roughly 80% he’s had throughout the rest of his career,” writes Laine. “Evans and [Jalen] McMillan each had 70.2%, with Evans’ snap counts starting to drop over the last two seasons.”
Laine also notes that Tampa Bay “lined up in four receiver sets only one time last season.” But during Grizzard’s last two years as Dolphins OC (2022-2023), Miami “ran four receiver sets at the third-highest rate.” They also ran four receiver sets “more than any other team on third down specifically at 43 plays.”
With “very well-rounded” players like Emeka Egbuka at his disposal, first-time offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard should be ecstatic.
