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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had one of the most lethal offenses in the 2024 NFL season, and there's the possibility that they could get even better in 2025 on that side of the field, especially if rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka delivers on the snowballing hype he's having in Bucs training camp.
The rookie out of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program has been turning heads in Tampa Bay practices, with Dan Graziano of ESPN even noting that the 22-year-old wideout has been the “talk of training camp.”
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, who just got rewarded in the offseason with a new contract, is feeling great about Tampa Bay's first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, a move that is said to have “surprised” many.
“He looks like he's been in the league for 10 years,” Licht said of Egbuka.
Just as impressed with Egbuka is Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
“His football IQ is far beyond a guy coming out of college,” Bowles said. “It shows up as far as leverage, when he's being doubled, when he has to stop, when he has to break a route off, when he has to block somebody and then move to another gap and take the next guy. It's just the little things that you would think you have to teach the whole way, he's been doing the whole time.”
The Buccaneers still have the 1-2 combo in the downfield of veterans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who have yet to practice amid his rehab from an ankle injury. But Egbuka's strong showing and demeanor in the offseason are making it difficult for others to ignore him and easy for his teammates to praise.
“Stuff you can't teach,” Buccaneers star quarterback Baker Mayfield said of Egbuka.
“Sometimes when receivers are running through routes and the ball is somewhat high but they don't have to jump for it, some guys leave their feet. But he never leaves the ground. He stays grounded through the catch, so the potential for explosive plays with him is huge. Just the details of his routes, too, he learns from everything, watches other guys, understands the coverages. … Some things like that you can tell a rookie but he can't exactly take it from the practice meeting to the field immediately, might have to do it a couple of times, but Emeka does it seamlessly.”
In four seasons with the Buckeyes, Egbuka amassed 2,868 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns on 205 receptions through 49 games.
