Bucs rookie offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma got his first NFL regular season start in Week 14 against the Saints. And while the majority of the team had a listless performance, that cannot be said of the rookie undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern. Replacing an All-Pro in Tristan Wirfs was a tall task and having to go up against edge rusher Chase Young, who was having a good season with five sacks and a 21% pressure rate, made it all the more difficult.

The good news for the Bucs is that Chukwuma was more than up for the challenge. But before I get into my assessment watching the tape I think Chukwuma himself provided the perfect context in his post-game discussion with the media.

“Yeah, it means a lot,” Chukwuma said. “Like I was telling Tristan, two years ago I played my first ever football game, and today I’m starting an NFL game, so it’s crazy. I feel like I’m in a dream.”

That is crazy!

Ben Chukwuma’s Positive Traits

The tools are real with this kid. Ben Chukwuma displayed a quick jump off the snap to get into his pass set and a strong firm base in his first game as a starter against the Saints in Week 14. New Orleans edge rusher Chase Young presents most of his challenge in his powerful bull rush, converting speed to power and putting tackles on their heels. At that point they struggle to maintain core strength and balance falling back into a collapsing pocket.

That rarely happened with Chukwuma. For most of the day he seamlessly negated Young’s powerful attacks with a base that widened to absorb but rarely got too wide that he lost his ability to change directions and protect the edge of the arc.

Bucs LT Ben Chukwuma and Saints DE Chase Young – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

What was most impressive was the use of his hands and overall strength profile. The Saints use a heavy front that aims to bully opposing offensive lines. As mentioned before, Young himself is a power player. For Chukwuma to hit with heavy strikes and maintain a strong latch through the end of reps is an extremely positive sign going forward. There were also reps where he just rag-dolled Young with a heavy club of his own.

Grown man. pic.twitter.com/nJFLdwcaQw

— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) December 10, 2025

Those He-Man tosses weren’t just limited to Young. He was also throwing interior defensive linemen out of the club!

Again! https://t.co/pPqehrVsiW pic.twitter.com/3NfIg1DBJD

— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) December 10, 2025

Chukwuma’s impact was best as a run blocker, showcasing the power to vertically displace and wall, while also double and climbing proving he’s a plus athlete for the position. Asking an offensive lineman to quick climb and front-side cut off a linebacker in space is no easy ask. But that’s precisely what he was able to do to Saints inside linebacker Demario Davis, helping to spring Bucky Irving’s 32-yard run in the fourth quarter and similarly get to linebacker Pete Werner on a climb to push him several yards off balance.

In pass protection, it was more of a mixed bag for the young lineman. But there was still far more to get excited about than to be concerned with. Again, the anchor and latch were NFL-caliber, as he held his ground when challenged to prove he could hold up against powerful rushers.

pic.twitter.com/MerkGg1dsc

— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) December 10, 2025

It’s Chukwuma’s footwork and lack of experience that showed inconsistencies that led both offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and quarterback Baker Mayfield to separately state there were a few reps “he would like to have back” in their assessments of his first start.

“He did a good job,” Grizzard said. “There [are] definitely things that – from a rookie’s perspective in his first start in the NFL, he wants to clean up – but from an effort and mentality and how he approached it going into it was really good to see from his end of it with not having played much and now he’s starting. To your point, that whole game, he was going to go against Chase Young, which is a tall task – and that guy is having a hell of a year. I think he did a good job.

“I think he’s able to build off of that, and we told him going in, ‘Once the ball’s snapped it doesn’t matter that he was a first-round pick and second overall or whatever he was and you’re undrafted, he’s got to get off the block and you’ve got to block him.’ So it comes down to mano a mano, and I thought he met the challenge and played really physical.”

Mayfield concurred with Grizzard’s assessment.

“I thought he did a great job,” Mayfield said. “I know there’s things he wants to get correct and get fixed, but for his first real NFL snaps, I thought he did a really, really good job. [He] was locked in; no pre-snap penalties, none of that, which [is] what you look to eliminate when it’s your first start and he did all of that well.”

Bucs LT Ben Chukwuma and Saints LB Mike Rumph – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In watching the game, I would assume those reps came down to anticipation of the speed of how things developed would sometimes surprise him. On the opening touchdown screen pass to Bucky Irving, Chukwuma’s goal was to get Young to pursue Mayfield into the backfield so the screen would develop behind him. He drops into his set but never bluffs the block, allowing Young to immediately bear down on Mayfield faster than the play would dictate.

Young was a split-second from blowing up the entire play and ended up knocking Mayfield to the ground. That was the lack of experience.

There were other reps where he would overset to protect his outside shoulder and give up too much room on the inside. These are learning moments in a game where he still performed extremely well. What perhaps was most encouraging was how well he passed off the few stunts and twists he had to deal with. His eyes were quick to find wrappers and connect with them to drive them up the arc. Very little came easy against him.

What’s Next For Ben Chukwuma And The Bucs?

With the news that left guard Ben Bredeson is now out for the remainder of the regular season as he has been put on injured reserve, it is natural to ask if Ben Chukwuma can move inside to guard. In my estimation he is one of the five best healthy offensive linemen on the Bucs roster at the moment, so it’s an understandable question.

I would be hesitant if he hasn’t practiced inside at all this season. He is still an extremely raw product who has been asked to learn the right and left tackle spots at the highest level in the sport without much experience to begin with.

The responsibilities and traits needed to succeed at guard are different that tackle. If you don’t believe me, just as Luke Goedeke. Goedeke excelled at tackle in college only to struggle as a guard his rookie year in 2022 to the point he was benched midway through the season. And that was with an entire offseason to prepare for the position. Since moving him back to his natural position of tackle in 2023 he has turned into one of the five best right tackles in the league.

But following the 2025 season is a wholly different story. The Bucs will have a fantastic problem on their hands. A young talented tackle under team control for up to three more seasons sitting behind one of the two best tackle duos in the NFL. At worst the team should feel confident they have their swing tackle of the foreseeable future. No more chasing failed starters to hopefully prevent the damn from bursting if and when Tristan Wirfs or Goedeke miss a game or two due to injury.

Bucs LT Ben Chukwuma and Saints DE Cam Jordan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But at best…

I am all for getting your most talented five on the field at offensive line. There is a world where a room that includes Wirfs, Goedeke, Cody Mauch, Ben Bredeson and Graham Barton include Chukwuma as one of those five. Could a move inside for 2026 be in-store? At 6-foot-6, he would be one of the tallest guards in the NFL with a 6-foot-1 quarterback behind him. But both Barton and Mauch are 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6, respectively, so it’s not entirely out of the question.

What is exciting at this moment in time though, is that Chukwuma is outpacing even the best version of his first-year development and giving reasonable minds reason to be excited about the future. I said following the disappointing loss to New Orleans last week there was nothing impressive about that game.

Well, I was wrong. Because Chukwuma continued his impressive preseason performance with a downright exciting game in his first NFL start.