With WR Mike Evans gone, former Offensive Rookie of the Month Emeka Egbuka embraces a permanent WR1 role under a new coordinator ready to maximize his versatile skillset.
In 2025, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a surprising pick at the No. 19 overall slot, selecting Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who was recently named the best draft pick from the class by FOX Sports.
On Wednesday, Egbuka joined the Up & Adams show to talk about last season and the excitement and expansion for his new role.
"There’s a passing of the torch, and it needs to be received by someone…" Egbuka said. "[Leadership] is something that’s always come naturally to me. When the Bucs were evaluating me, that was something that they put a lot of emphasis on. I was a captain at Ohio State. I've been a captain on pretty much every football team I've been a part of."
Egbuka stepped into the WR1 role during Mike Evans' injury early in last year's season.
In Week 5, against the Seattle Seahawks, Egbuka hauled in all seven of his targets, accumulating a career-high 163 yards and adding a touchdown.
At this point, Evans was sidelined and veteran wideout Chris Godwin was still getting back into playing shape, leaving Egbuka with a clear lead-receiver role.
His performance marked his second-consecutive 100-plus yard, one-TD outing, which earned the 6-foot-1 route technician Offensive Rookie of the Month honors for September.
However, the offense struggled late in the season, as Egbuka and the passing game's production as a whole dropped.
"We fell into a little bit of a lull as an entire offense..." Egbuka said. "We got a new offensive coordinator, so we're ready to put all those pieces together."
Of course, former Atlanta Falcons OC Zac Robinson is the new play caller for Tampa Bay, and has already instilled excitement and ingenuity in the offense.
Egbuka, who seldomly took handoffs in college, said that Robinson has been experimenting with him in the backfield.
"That's something that I've always felt very comfortable doing," Egbuka said. "I played running back my entire career up until my freshman year of high school... I definitely put a lot of trust in Zac Robinson. He's vetted and he's proven. You look at Atlanta in his last season and they had premier wide receiver production when it comes to Drake London, amazing running back production when it comes to Bijan, and then tight ends when it comes to Kyle Pitts, so I think he's someone who knows how to use the weapons he's been given."
After leading the team in receptions (63) and yards (938), while finishing as a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Egbuka is stepping back into a permanent WR1 role following Evans' departure.
He should thrive in the lead role that he started out in last season, with Robinson finding new ways to get the elite playmaker the ball in space.
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