Bucs WR Egbuka Reflects on Lone Season With Mike Evans

After spending his first 12 NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans moved on, joining the San Francisco 49ers in free agency.

Last season was an injury-riddled campaign for the Bucs legend, but he still was able to impart valuable wisdom and leadership on Tampa's young receivers.

On Sunday, second-year wideout Emeka Egbuka talked about his time with Evans and the impact he had on his stellar rookie year.

"When you think of Tampa Bay, you think of Mike Evans," Egbuka told NFL Network. "I'm thankful to have had the year that I had with him. Just to be able to know him as a friend and a mentor on the field."

During Evans' absence, Egbuka took over as the Bucs' lead receiver, thriving in his expanded role.

The former Ohio State standout led the team in receptions (63) and yards (938), and finished as a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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 Godwin was still getting back into playing shape, leaving Egbuka with a clear WR1 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.

Egbuka's production did dip as he dealt with lingering injuries and role changes as players got healthy, but he still manufactured one of the best rookie seasons from a Tampa wideout in franchise history.

With Evans now gone for good, Egbuka is the clear WR1 going forward and has talked about being a leader in the room.

"There’s a passing of the torch, and it needs to be received by someone…" Egbuka said on the Up & Adams show in early-May. "[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."

This leadership was highly touted during the Bucs' pre-draft process last season, as General Manager Jason Licht talked about Egbuka's maturity and smarts.

Licht even went as far to call him another "Chris Godwin," as he exudes some of the same characteristics and qualities as Tampa's veteran.

Hailed as one of the top players in his draft class, Egbuka will look to avoid a sophomore slump that has been common as of late for players at his position.

Getting back to the full-time lead receiving role he excelled in towards the beginning of last season should be a benefit.