The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected wide receiver Emeka Egbuka from the Ohio State Buckeyes with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. This was an interesting selection for the Buccaneers, this could prove that Egbuka could have a major role in Tampa Bay’s offense right away.

The Buccaneers have one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the entire NFL. To go along with the rookie wide receiver, they also have Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan. That is a loaded wide receiver for quarterback Baker Mayfield to work with. Tampa Bay has won the NFC South title for the last several years and they will look to be in the playoffs once again.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Inside Reveals That Emeka Egbuka Could Play Big Role In Offense As a Rookie

The projected starting wide receivers for Tampa Bay in 2025 will be Egbuka, Evans, and Godwin. McMillan will be the fourth wide receiver on the roster. From mandatory minicamp, ESPN reporter Jenna Laine thinks that the former Buckeyes wide receiver can be a huge part of this offense right away during the 2025 NFL season. Laine said,
“Egbuka is going to have a big role in the Bucs’ offense, especially with Chris Godwin still recovering from ankle surgery, and even after. He has shown up a ton in the short passing game — really helping Tampa Bay stretch the field horizontally, and at times looking like a running back once the ball is in his hands — but he’s also been on the end of some big plays downfield.
“The thing that sticks out is how cerebral he is,” QB Baker Mayfield said. “He’s so smart. Right now, I think we could plug-and-play him at every [wide] receiver spot; he understands the offense that well. That’s just him being a pro already.””
He was not the number one option for Ohio State in 2024. Egbuka was the second-option behind Jeremiah Smith. He will be the second or third option in this offense. Evans will be the number one option, but Egbuka is going to be very reliable for this football team. He runs everything well on the route tree and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was one of the top rookies in the NFL during the 2025 season.
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