The talk of the Bucs’ first OTA practice was the highlight one-handed catch made by second year wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. It was posted about on social media by several reporters, including Pewter Report, and discussed on the Pewter Report Podcast during Tuesday’s OTA recap episode.

But since it was during the part of practice where filming was no longer allowed, the only way people knew about it was through word of mouth. We all patiently waited for the Bucs to post the video themselves, and we finally got that it on Thursday. Here is the video of Egbuka’s one-handed catch that generated a lot of fanfare on social media.

Egbuka is no stranger to making highlight plays or even one-handed reception. He notably had an awesome, one-handed catch in the Bucs’ home opener last season against the Jets. It was just another example of the sensation that Egbuka can be for this team.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Is Emeka Egbuka WR1 For Bucs?

The Bucs wide receiver room is in an interesting spot going into the 2026 season. On paper, Chris Godwin Jr. would likely be the team’s number one receiver due to his status and longevity on the team. But given Godwin’s recent injury struggles and the emergence of some young stars at the position, it would not surprise many if Emeka Egbuka, last year’s first-round pick, rose up to be the top producer.

Egbuka led Tampa Bay in receiving by a mile a season ago with 63 catches for 938 yards (14.9 avg.) and six touchdowns. But in fairness, several players were injured throughout the year. Egbuka was the only regularly starting wide receiver to play in all 17 games, so him surviving throughout it all gave him better numbers than most.

Bucs WRs Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. – IMAGN Images

With that said, his dynamic rookie season is certainly a great start to build on. Egbuka’s production did slow down towards the end of the season, plus Jalen McMillan, Mike Evans and Godwin coming back from injuries moved the football around more.

And that’s what makes this an intriguing question. By all accounts, Godwin looked great at the OTA practice last week. Plus, McMillan has the potential to pick up where he left off once returning from a gruesome neck injury, Tampa Bay is going to have a great competition between three receivers with playing experience that can be the top dog.

That doesn’t even include the Bucs drafting wide receiver Ted Hurst in the third round, who has the potential to be a star in this league. Add in Tez Johnson and other important role players and the Bucs are looking at incredible depth going into this season.

CBS Sports’ Jared Durbin wrote an article recently asking what the biggest questions are for the top draft picks from a season ago going into their second year in the NFL. Egbuka’s name was brought up for the Bucs as to whether he’ll be the top receiver on the team. This is what Durbin wrote:

“Egbuka got off to a scorching start, catching 25 passes for 445 yards and five touchdowns in his first five games. Over his final 12 games, he caught “just” 38 balls for 493 yards and one score.

“He’ll be counted on as Baker Mayfield’s top target this year with Mike Evans decamping for San Francisco. He wasn’t ever the top target at Ohio State. Can he be one in the pros?”

Bucs WRs Jalen McMillan, Chris Godwin, Tez Johnson, Sterling Shepard and Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If I were wagering on it, Godwin will start out as Tampa Bay’s top receiver from a production standpoint, but Egbuka is the future number one of this team. It’s going to take every wideout on offense to get the job done with Evans’ departure, and the reality is that several receivers on Tampa Bay’s offense can wind up being the No. 1 receiver on a weekly basis with Mayfield’s penchant for spreading the ball around.

And because of that, one never knows who’s going to make the highlight play like Egbuka did in practice last week. From top-to-bottom, the talent level at wide receiver could be at an all-time high in Tampa Bay – even without Evans in 2026.