Ohio State star would benefit from latest predicted top five surprise that's emerged before 2025 NFL Draft

Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has been falling out of the first round in recent mock drafts, but recent expert predictions about the 2025 NFL Draft could shake things up. After ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Jacksonville Jaguars are considering Tetairoa McMillan with the fifth overall pick, one of our top thoughts was how this would change everything for Egbuka.

The Buckeyes' career-leading receiver had been settling at the top of the second round of user mocks, but McMillan had also been going lower. McMillan was projected to go anywhere from 12th to the 20s. In turn, Matthew Golden and Egbuka were pushed down.

However, everyone slides much farther up in this scenario. 

If McMillan and Golden are off the board after the Dallas Cowboys pick at No. 12, then the next logical pick at receiver is Egbuka. It's hard to imagine that each of Seattle, Arizona, Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay, Detroit, and even trade up candidates like Las Vegas wouldn't make Egbuka their selection.

Because of so many needy teams and considering how easily Egbuka fits onto any offense and situation, it'd be quite surprising for him to not benefit. 

Here's a snippet of Egbuka's scouting report ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The "big slot" WR role has gotten more and more popular across the NFL over the past few years. And if a team is looking to add it to their offense through the draft, Egbuka is likely going to be their top option. Egbuka was projected to hear his name called in the late first to early second range in 2024 but elected to head back to school for one more year. 

He's been able to stay healthy, which is a big win, but he has seen multiple talented WRs out-produce him this year and, as a result, could jump him on draft day. Egbuka is a smart WR and should be able to carve out a role early in his career. But I think he could end up being taken further down the list of WRs in the 2025 class than many people realize.