Former Ohio State star Emeka Egbuka has the opportunity to take a major jump in his second year in the NFL.
Former Ohio State star Emeka Egbuka is entering his second year in the NFL in 2026, coming off a very up-and-down rookie season.
He got off to a ridiculously good start last year as he really meshed with Baker Mayfield and was a focal point of the Tampa Bay offense. Some injuries towards the middle of the year and a significant decline in quarterback play towards the end of the season changed the trajectory of his first year.
Heading into year two, the Bucs are putting a lot of responsibility on the back of their second-year receiver.
Tampa Bay let future Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Mike Evans hit the free agent market and head to San Francisco to finish his career. That opens the door for Egbuka to become the No. 1 receiver on the Bucs roster.
Similar to his former teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he is being forced into the No. 1 wide receiver spot, and it will go one of two ways for the young, budding star.
In his rookie year, Egbuka finished with 63 catches for 938 yards and six touchdowns. However, after Week 10, he didn't register a touchdown the remainder of the year and didn't eclipse more than five catches or 65 yards in a game.
It was a swift fall from grace, but not too out of the ordinary for a rookie who gets off to a fast start.
Year two for Egbuka could be a lot different. Tampa Bay is getting a new offensive coordinator, Zac Robinson, who is taking over the controls. Egbuka was on NFL Insiders on Tuesday and said that he believes that the Bucs are "going to have a dangerous offense" in 2026.
If they do, it will be because Egbuka had a great bounce back sophomore season.
Robinson comes from Atlanta, where he was the offensive coordinator for two years before coming to the Falcons' division rival. He cut his teeth in the league under Sean McVay out in Los Angeles as the quarterbacks coach for Matt Stafford and the Rams.
He comes to Tampa with a ton of weapons, a reckless quarterback, and a ball of clay in Egbuka that could be a future star in this league.
JSN set the standard last year as one of the best No. 1 options in all of football. Egbuka could join him on the mantle next year, and their one common denominator is Columbus, Ohio.
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