Emeka Egbuka’s Breakout Is Coming

Buccaneers’ Wide Receiver Emeka Egbuka’s rookie campaign began with a lot of promise and a lot of excitement. He was the clear leader for Offensive Rookie of the Year – that is, until he wasn’t. He ended up losing out to division rival Tetairoa McMillan despite the fact that McMillan had just two games with 100 yards or more and failed to reach 60 yards in eight games.

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For Egbuka, he fell out of the spotlight because of the Buccaneers’ inability to win games down the stretch but also the injuries sustained by Baker Mayfield, the offensive line, and Egbuka himself who played through a hamstring injury for much of the second half of the season. Add to that the poor game planning and play calling by offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and it was a perfect storm for Egbuka to have a drop off in production from week 10 on.

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We’ve also heard the stories about the rookie wall and for a player like Egbuka, it’s a bit bigger than some of the other players that were drafted. Long run to winning a National Championship with Ohio State, into draft prep, the combine, the pro day, the draft, right into rookie mini-camp, OTA’s, mandatory mini-camp, then training camp. There wasn’t a lot of time off or recovery going on. To be fair, we saw Jalen McMillan go through it the year before and it cost him some time with hamstring injuries early in the season before his late season break out. It’s a real thing that a lot of people don’t truly understand. Now, it’s time to shift the focus to year two and what Egbuka should be able to do.

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The truth of the matter is, he should be able to lead the team in receiving and take over that WR1 role with the departure of Mike Evans – but he’s going to do it in a different way. What I can tell you with confidence is that it will happen based on Egbuka’s talent as well as the role he is now going to play.

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It’s not a coincidence that Todd Bowles, new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, and Egbuka himself have made it well known that Egbuka will be playing the Z receiver this coming season in the new offense. For those that paid attention to what the Los Angeles Rams have done in recent years, what Zac Robinson did in Atlanta, or what Liam Coen did in 2024 – this offense runs through the Z receiver. Traditionally, it’s the X receiver – Mike Evans when he was in Tampa, Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati, Justin Jefferson in Minnesota – but more and more we’re seeing offenses funnel through the Z – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua, and to bring this full circle, Drake London.

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During Robinson’s two year tenure in Atlanta, Drake London was the team’s number one receiver but was also the Z. In Robinson’s first year with the Falcons, London finished with 158 targets, 1,271 yards, and nine touchdowns in 17 games. Last season, he only played twelve games but was on a full season pace for 159 targets, 1,302 yards, and 10 touchdowns – increasing his output from the year before which were all career highs. He had 100 receptions in 2024, 28 more than his previous career high back in his rookie season. Even with five missed games due to injury in 2025, London set a career high for yards per reception – 13.5 – and yards per game – 76.6. London also raked in 67 receptions that resulted in a first down in 2024, 20 more than his previous career high for a season.

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This is the role Egbuka will play in this season. Think about the domination Chris Godwin had before his injury in 2024. While Godwin played out of the slot, he was the one that the offense funneled through in Coen’s offense that season. Mike still had his role, McMillan and Sterling Shepard had their roles – but the offense was going through Godwin. Now, the offense is going to go through Egbuka. And while Robinson has more weapons in Tampa than he did in Atlanta, going from a duo of London and Kyle Pitts to a stable of Egbuka, Godwin, McMillan, Tez Johnson, and rookie Ted Hurst, it would make sense that Egbuka makes a gigantic leap in 2026 because of the way the offense is designed.

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This all stems from Sean McVay out in Los Angeles. In 2021, Cooper Kupp dominated the league as the Z receiver and led the Rams to a Super Bowl. It’s actually interesting to see the shift beginning to happen where teams don’t need that true X receiver anymore because the players entering and taking over the league are all a little smaller, a little quicker, and insanely talented. The prototype Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss big bodied speedsters that can win the jump balls and box out defenders are slowly beginning to slip away. Even players like Chase and Jefferson who play a traditional X role aren’t the body type of those old school X receivers.

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It’s all about getting the ball into the hands of your playmakers and letting them do the work. Egbuka already showed that he can make the plays – now it’s going to be about how often Baker can get the ball in his hands. If Atlanta’s usage of Drake London is any indication, it’s going to be a lot and towards the top of the league in targets. Then, it’ll be on Egbuka to translate that into production. There’s very little doubt he can’t get the job done.

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