'It's Ja'Marr Chase-like' — Former Bucs standouts Aqib Talib and Gerald McCoy have high praise for Emeka Egbuka

"Listen, Emeka Egbuka is Ja'Marr Chase-like," Talib said. "Everything happens for a reason. I love Mike Evans. Mike Evans went down. Godwin isn't healthy. This guy's got to be your number one. And I'm telling you it happened for a reason because he is the rookie of the year. He is a legit number one. He is a legit all-around receiver. He might not be the fastest, but it's that game speed. Some guys, when you throw that ball in the air, we could be running, and it's a little too far for some people, but some people have those last three steps and get to it. He can run that same high 4.4 over a long period of time. Some guys take long to get to that 4.4, some guys can just get to that 4.4 and run that thing for 50 yards straight. His game speed is crazy. His ball skills, his routes. And like you said, he just knows how to run routes, make it look like this. He knows how to move defenders, knows how to control his body to catch these balls.

Bro is special. I know special receivers when I see them, Skip. He is a special receiver. He's going to score double-digit touchdowns this year and probably again next year. It's Ja'Marr Chase-like."

McCoy followed that up by noting the timing of the decision to draft Egbuka back in April, and that it was a particularly savvy one under the circumstances.

"To your point, 'Qib, this is why I say that Jason Licht is a great GM. The writing is on the wall. Mike is getting older. You don't know what CG is going to - CG, as great as he is when he's healthy, he wasn't healthy, and Mike is getting older. We have our quarterback of the future, so we've got to give him help. So, when he got hit when he drafted him in the first round, I said 'I know what you're doing, Jason.'"

Licht did get a number of head scratching columns written about him after they spent their first pick on the former Buckeye standout. After all, Evans was coming off another 1000-yard season, and Godwin was expected to be back early in the season after re-signing with the team in the offseason.

But Evans could be in his final season and has hinted about his playing days being short. And while the Bucs got a good rookie season last year out of Jalen McMillan, Egbuka has shown he's a first-round talent and then some through an incredible first five games. Because of that move, the Bucs' explosive passing attack is now set up for success for years to come thanks to Licht's foresight.

If Egbuka indeed becomes the kind of player that Talib and McCoy believe, and the one that the trajectory indicates he very well could be, then Licht may have pulled another fast one on the rest of the NFL.