Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka participates in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Baker Mayfield compares Bucs rookie Emeka Egbuka to Lions superstar

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver and Ohio State Buckeyes product Emeka Egbuka has already been turning heads during Tampa Bay's offseason ever since the team took him with its No. 19-overall pick. So much so, in fact, that his new quarterback is drawing a comparison to a Detroit Lions All-Pro.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield recently sat down for an interview with RG.org, and during that interview, he compared Egbuka to superstar Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Mayfield particularly compared Egbuka's motor to that of St. Brown's, which he says is a trait not all wide receivers possess.

"Receivers don't always stay on the ground, run through the catch to get yards after the catch, and he reminds me of Amon-Ra St. Brown in a way, which is obviously high praise," Mayfield said in an interview with RG.org. "Amon-Ra St. Brown is an absolute stud, but he does a lot of things similar to where he's always trying to make a big play."

Emeka Egbuka and Amon-Ra St. Brown

The two players have some similar intangibles. They both play at a similar size — St. Brown is listed at 6'0", 203 pounds, while Egbuka is listed at 6'1", 205 pounds. Both wide receivers play a similar role as primarily slot wide receivers who can also thrive on the outside, and, after a recent college football conference merger, both wideouts currently hail from Big Ten schools (St. Brown, during his playing career at USC, played in the PAC-10).

Egbuka will have a lot to prove before he can live up to the status St. Brown has set, however. St. Brown has been a First Team All-Pro for the past two years in Detroit and has been a Pro Bowl wideout from 2022-24, so if Egbuka could end up like that, the Buccaneers will be very pleased. First, though, he has to get acclimated to the NFL environment with Bucs in his first NFL season.

The two will get a chance to meet this year when the Buccaneers head to Detroit to face off against the Lions in Week 7.