Even after Bucs legend Mike Evans departed for the 49ers in free agency, the rest of Tampa Bay’s wide receiver room still offered plenty of reasons to be excited about the passing game.

Full offseasons would only help Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan after injuries affected much of their 2025 seasons. After struggling in the second half of his rookie year, Emeka Egbuka appeared poised to take on a bigger role in his second season. Add in Tez Johnson exceeding expectations and Tampa Bay drafting Ted Hurst III in the third round, and things appeared to be trending upward in 2026.

Nine games into the season, that optimism has all but disappeared.

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s offense has failed to incorporate the wide receivers effectively, but the group hasn’t done itself any favors with its play. Bucky Irving has rushed for 825 yards through nine games. His backup, Kenny Gainwell, has added another 305 yards. Meanwhile, the Bucs’ leading receiver, Emeka Egbuka, has managed just 278 yards.

Yes, Tampa Bay’s backup running back has more rushing yards than any of its wide receivers have receiving yards.

In this week’s Slivon’s Slant, I examine how a presumed strength has become a glaring weakness, and why the Bucs may have no choice but to invest another premium draft pick at the position in 2027.

Chris Godwin Jr. Is A Shell Of His Former Self

After spending nearly a decade sharing the spotlight with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr. finally entered 2026 as the unquestioned leader of the Bucs’ wide receiver room. The former Pro Bowler and team captain appeared poised to reclaim his status as a 1,000-yard receiver with an expanded role.

Instead, Godwin looks like a shell of his former self in Zac Robinson’s offense.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin Jr. – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Robinson deserves some blame. Godwin has been surprisingly underutilized, averaging barely four targets per game. That is a startling drop for a receiver who averaged 8.7 targets per game from 2021-2023, topping 1,000 yards in all three seasons.

But even if the targets were there, it is hard to imagine Godwin doing much more with them. Godwin hasn’t looked like the same explosive playmaker since suffering his second major injury just seven games into the 2024 season, when he was thriving in Liam Coen’s offense. In 18 games since returning from that injury, he has managed just 62 catches for 619 yards and two touchdowns. That includes just 29 catches for 259 yards and zero touchdowns this season.

That is simply not enough production for a player earning $22 million this year, especially with another $22 million in non-guaranteed compensation looming in 2027. With the Bucs able to move on rather than pay that amount, all signs point to this being Godwin’s swan song in Tampa Bay.

What once made Godwin so dangerous, dating back to his breakout 2019 season with Jameis Winston, was his ability to stretch the field vertically, create separation and turn short passes into explosive gains. Even when Byron Leftwich made him the focal point of the offense in 2022, his first season after tearing his ACL, Godwin could regularly turn a short screen pass into a first down.

Now, in his age-30 season, that explosiveness appears to be gone. Godwin isn’t consistently separating from defenders or making them miss in space the way he once did. The hands and football intelligence are still there, but the dynamic playmaking ability that once made him a dangerous receiver is not.

Emeka Egbuka’s Sophomore Slump Is Getting Ugly

It is difficult to watch Chris Godwin Jr.’s decline, but his diminished production is at least understandable. He is in his 10th NFL season and has battled back from multiple significant injuries. What is far more alarming is how dramatically Emeka Egbuka has fallen off after such a sensational start to his NFL career.

Five games into his rookie season, it looked like Tampa Bay had found its own Jaxon Smith-Njigba to take the reins of the passing game. It didn’t seem far-fetched to compare the two Ohio State products, especially after Egbuka outdueled Smith-Njigba in a Week 5 thriller last season. His seven-catch, 163-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 38-35 win appeared to cement his status as a rising star.

But that star has faded just as quickly as it emerged.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: IMAGN Images

Since that breakout performance, Egbuka has topped 100 receiving yards just once in 19 games. That lone performance came against the Patriots in Week 10 of 2025, meaning it has now been more than a year since he last reached the century mark.

Where has his production gone?

Egbuka appeared to fall out of favor and down the pecking order of targets in the second half of 2025. Injuries played a part, as did playing a long 17-game season after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship with the Buckeyes. But those explanations no longer fully account for his struggles in Year 2.

Egbuka has produced like a backup wide receiver, not a recent first-round pick expected to lead the passing game. Sure, he leads the Bucs with 31 catches, 278 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. But being the best of an underperforming group isn’t much of an accomplishment. His yards per reception have also plummeted from 14.9 as a rookie to just 9.0 this season. That lack of production reflects both the offense’s design and Egbuka’s own shortcomings.

When Zac Robinson and Baker Mayfield have discussed the passing game’s struggles, they have pointed to the finer details of receivers hitting their landmarks and being on the same page with the quarterback. That arguably applies most to Egbuka, who has had issues running precise routes and reaching his landmarks on time. There have also been too many instances where he hasn’t appeared to run his routes with the urgency or precision needed to create separation.

Egbuka hasn’t looked as explosive this season, and perhaps it’s been his August toe injury or his recent foot injury that have caused that issue. Yet that doesn’t mean he can’t be a quality possession-type receiver and a No. 2 option like Godwin was alongside Evans. For that to happen, Tampa Bay has to accept that finding its next true No. 1 receiver remains unfinished business heading into 2027.

The Bucs Can’t Keep Waiting For Jalen McMillan

Jalen McMillan has shown plenty of promise when he has been on the field. The problem is keeping him there.

McMillan caught a touchdown in his NFL debut and finished his rookie season with seven touchdowns over his final five games. In 2025, he recorded his first 100-yard performance in Week 17 against the Dolphins, hauling in seven catches for 114 yards.

There is little question that “JMac” has shown he can be a capable NFL wide receiver, but flashes of potential only mean so much when injuries have prevented him from consistently contributing to the offense.

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

After suffering a scary neck injury during the 2025 preseason, McMillan missed the first 13 games before returning for the final four. The hope was that a full offseason would allow him to build on his late-season performance and establish himself as a more prominent part of the passing game following Mike Evans’ departure.

Instead, McMillan’s third season has been another lost opportunity.

A knee injury suffered during training camp kept him out of the season opener, and he aggravated the injury early against the Vikings in Week 3. That landed him back on injured reserve, and nine games into 2026, McMillan has yet to record a single reception.

It is an unfortunate situation for a talented young player who has had little control over his injury misfortune. But the NFL is a results-driven business, and the Bucs can only wait so long for McMillan to turn his potential into consistent production. That is not to say Tampa Bay should give up on him. McMillan is still just 24 years old and has another year remaining on his rookie contract.

There is plenty of reason to believe he can be a valuable contributor when healthy, but the Bucs can no longer afford to count on him being one of their primary receiving options going forward. Anything McMillan provides should be viewed as a bonus rather than something the offense depends on.

Until he proves he can stay healthy, Tampa Bay has to plan as if it cannot rely on him and probably has to draft another receiver to replace him.

The Bucs’ Young Playmakers Are Explosive, But Erratic

Of all the decisions the Bucs’ coaching staff has made this season, benching Ted Hurst III after one drop against the Bears in Week 9 might have been one of the dumbest.

The rookie wide receiver played just one snap in Chicago, dropping his lone target in the second quarter before spending the rest of the game on the sideline. As Scott Reynolds pointed out in his latest SR’s FAB 5 column, it was a ridiculous decision considering the other receivers have had their own issues holding onto the football. Tez Johnson even had two drops in the same game yet wasn’t benched.

Bucs WR Ted Hurst III – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Hurst certainly needs to catch the football when opportunities come his way, but how is sitting him for nearly an entire game supposed to help his development? This is a third-round pick with real upside, not a veteran who has repeatedly failed to meet expectations. The Bucs should be finding ways to get him more involved, not punishing him for making a mistake.

That is especially true considering what Hurst can bring to the offense. At 6-foot-4 with 4.47 speed, Hurst possesses a size-speed combination unlike any other receiver on the roster. He can be molded into being a legitimate vertical threat as an X receiver, yet Zac Robinson has not utilized those attributes to stretch defenses downfield enough. After being targeted 16 times in his first four games, Hurst has been targeted just three times over his last three games while playing fewer snaps compared to earlier in the year.

How is he supposed to develop into a reliable playmaker when he barely gets on the field and is barely targeted when he is? Limiting his development while the passing game desperately needs a spark is certainly a choice.

Tez Johnson has been another frustrating case, although for different reasons. The second-year receiver has proven he can be a legitimate vertical threat with his speed and quickness, but his production has been the definition of boom-or-bust.

Through nine games, Johnson has 11 catches for 254 yards and one touchdown. His impressive 23.1 yards per reception jumps off the stat sheet, but that number is misleading when looking at his overall production. A 49-yard catch against the Browns, a 64-yarder against the Cowboys and a 58-yarder against the Bears account for 189 of his 254 receiving yards. That means nearly 75% of his production has come on just three plays.

Bucs WR Tez Johnson – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Those explosive gains are valuable, especially for an offense that has struggled to generate them through the air. But Johnson has yet to prove he can consistently contribute beyond the occasional big play. He followed his 64-yard catch against Dallas with just seven receiving yards against Pittsburgh two games later, then failed to record a catch or even draw a target against the Falcons in Week 8.

His performance against Chicago perfectly encapsulated the highs and lows. Johnson hauled in a 58-yard reception that showed how dangerous he can be downfield, but he also dropped the aforementioned two passes. The Bucs need more than the occasional explosive play from a receiver who has become an important part of the offense.

Johnson has exceeded expectations for a former seventh-round pick, and there is reason to believe he can develop into a valuable complementary weapon. The problem is that Tampa Bay needs consistent production now, not just glimpses of what he could become.

That is the dilemma with the Bucs’ younger receivers. Hurst and Johnson possess the athletic ability to make an impact, but neither has established himself as a dependable weekly contributor. Some of that falls on their own execution, and some falls on a coaching staff that hasn’t consistently put them in positions to succeed.

Until that changes, the Bucs will have to continue searching for answers at wide receiver.

Closing Slant

The Bucs knew replacing Mike Evans wouldn’t be easy, but they clearly believed they had enough talent in the wide receiver room to withstand his departure. Nine games into 2026, that belief looks increasingly misguided.

Chris Godwin Jr. is no longer the player he once was. Emeka Egbuka has gone from looking like a future star to struggling to establish himself as a legitimate No. 1 receiver. Jalen McMillan can’t stay healthy, while Ted Hurst III and Tez Johnson have provided more flashes of potential than consistent production.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka and former Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Zac Robinson and the coaching staff deserve plenty of blame for failing to maximize the talent they have, but at some point, the players have to deliver, too. The Bucs simply aren’t getting enough from a position group that was supposed to be one of the strengths of their offense.

That leaves general manager Jason Licht with a difficult reality to confront heading into 2027. Godwin’s time in Tampa Bay is running out, McMillan cannot be counted on to stay healthy, and Egbuka has yet to prove he can carry a passing game. Hurst and Johnson may develop into valuable complementary pieces, but neither should prevent the Bucs from aggressively pursuing another receiver.

Whether that means investing another premium draft pick at the position or making a significant move in free agency, Tampa Bay must find a true No. 1 wide receiver. The Bucs entered 2026 believing they had the answers at wide receiver even without Evans.

Nine games later, they have discovered just how much they were counting on players who either haven’t developed, haven’t stayed healthy or haven’t been properly utilized.

Losing Evans was always going to hurt. Finding out the rest of the wide receiver room wasn’t nearly as good as advertised has been a disaster of its own.