For the first few months of his rookie season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ 2025 1st round pick, Emeka Egbuka, didn’t just look like his team’s best wide receiver. He looked like 1 of the NFL’s best wide receivers.
By the time the season came to a close, you couldn’t find many people singing that tune despite Egbuka leading the Buccaneers with 63 receptions for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns.
They weren’t saying that because the most incredible part about Egbuka’s stat line is that, after the 1st 9 games, he had 40 receptions for 678 yards and 6 touchdowns. That put him on track to not just be the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year but also possibly a Pro Bowler.
“In a strong start to his rookie campaign, Emeka Egbuka eclipsed 100 receiving yards and scored a touchdown in Weeks 4 and 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks,” Moton wrote. “However, after a 115-yard, one-score performance against the New England Patriots in Week 10, Egbuka saw a drop-off in production. In the final quarter of the season, he saw fewer targets with fellow wideouts Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan healthy. This year, Egbuka should see an uptick in target share. Tampa Bay lost Evans to the San Francisco 49ers in free agency. He averaged nearly eight targets per game last season. Keep in mind that 10th-year wideout Chris Godwin has missed 18 games over the last two years because of injuries … Egbuka is in a position to be a rising star with the opportunities he’ll get in the Buccaneers’ passing attack.”
Egubka Played Blame Game Over 2nd Half Struggles
Blaming Egbuka’s struggles in the 2nd half of the season on his teammates getting healthy is … sort of weak sauce.
The real problem wasn’t Evans or McMillan getting back on the field. The problem was a rash of drops around the time his slump started and a hamstring injury that may have been worse than either Egbuka or the Buccaneers let on.
Egbuka wasn’t hearing all that, though, and decided to scapegoat former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, who was fired after just 1 season.
The Buccaneers started the season 5-1 before stumbling to an 8-9 finish and missing the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019.
“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.”
NFC South Rival Snatched NFL OROY Honor
To add insult to injury, Egbuka saw the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year trophy that was his to lose went to a fellow 2025 1st-round pick and NFC South Division rival — not to mention a fellow wide receiver — in Carolina Panthers star Tetairoa McMillan.
In the final 8 games of the regular season, Egbuka had 23 receptions for 261 yards and no touchdowns, including 3 games with 20 or fewer receiving yards.
Egbuka had his worst game of the year in the regular-season finale against the Panthers, with 1 reception for 8 yards. To add insult to injury, fellow rookie and Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with 70 receptions for 1,017 yards and 7 touchdowns.
