If anything has become clear since the Bucs selected Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the No. 19 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft late Thursday night, it’s that general manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of Tampa Bay’s decision makers absolutely love Egbuka — both the player and the person.

And they clearly weren’t the only ones who felt that way about the Buckeyes’ two-time 1,000-yard receiver.

According to a report on Friday’s edition of The Dan Patrick Show, the Texans and Rams were both trying to trade up in the first round on Thursday night to select Egbuka. But once Tampa Bay made him the pick at No. 19, those calls stopped. Pewter Report confirmed that report on Friday.

During Egbuka’s introductory press conference at the AdventHealth Training Center on Friday afternoon, Licht referenced other teams’ interest in Tampa Bay’s first-round selection and said he was happy they stuck with the No. 19 pick rather than trying to trade back.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: USA Today

“It’s always a good day when you pick your first-round pick and the next day, you’re introducing them and you feel — Todd [Bowles], myself, our staffs — just feel so rock-solid about the person and the player,” Licht said. “There were a lot of teams that wanted him. So, I’m glad we didn’t try to get cute and move back and get other picks because we wouldn’t have ended up here today with [him].”

As the first round inched closer and closer to the No. 19 pick, it did feel like the Bucs might have the option to trade back considering the number of available players at their perceived positions of need. Not to mention, Licht loves racking up more draft picks on Days 2 and 3, so it had to be an intriguing thought. But the team just loved Emeka Egbuka too much to risk it, and it turned out that was a good thing for Licht and his war room.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles: It Was “An Easy Choice” To Draft Emeka Egbuka

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs have a lot of needs on defense, and they know that. Head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles obviously knows that, so how did he feel about spending the team’s first-round pick on a wide receiver?

“It’s also awesome as a GM to have a head coach that’s a defensive-minded person that’s running up the hill with his name, saying ‘We’ve got to draft this guy,'” Licht said. “So, that made it a lot easier.”

Bowles had plenty to say about Emeka Egbuka on Friday afternoon, and it’s clear that Licht wasn’t exaggerating about the head coach’s feelings on their newest draft pick.

“Total package. He’s a playmaker,” Bowles said. “He can play all three positions. He plays in the slot, he plays the Z, he plays the X. He can run with the ball, he can throw the ball, he can catch the ball. He’s a very good route runner. He’s a winner. He makes contested catches. He’s a very precise route runner as well. A lot of speed at the same time, he blocks at the same time. He checks all the boxes as a player and as a person. That made it an easy choice.”

Bowles obviously played a part in the pick as the team’s head coach, and it helps that he previously coached Brian Hartline — Ohio State’s wide receivers coach — during his time when he played with the Dolphins. Having Hartline’s thoughts and Egbuka and getting immediate reassurance after the pick is something Tampa Bay’s fourth-year head coach enjoyed.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: USA Today

“It was great,” Bowles said about having Hartline to check in with. “He was the first one to text me after we drafted him, to tell me how great a guy I got and how great a player I had. I’ve been with Brian for quite a while now. We know each other pretty good. To have that reassurance and him text you right afterwards… I coached [Hartline] — tells me my age — but him playing for me and then coaching him and getting confirmation on what kind of work ethic and player he is, it’s refreshing.”

As for spending such a premium pick on the offense rather than the defense, Bowles said they simply went with the best player available.

“Well, you draft the best player,” Bowles said. “We’re picking at 19. The value was so high on the player. There’s still more draft to go [Friday] and [Saturday], so we’ve got five more picks right now that we’ve got to make to get somebody on defense. So, we drafted the best player. We drafted an offensive player, and if you can score a lot of points, you’re gonna win a lot of games. We’ll take care of the defense in the next couple of days when we have the opportunity.”

“At the owners meeting, I said I wouldn’t pass up a good offensive player, and we had a good offensive player [available]. And we didn’t pass him up.”