The Bucs shocked the world when they selected Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. With many, us here at Pewter Report included, believing they had clear needs on the defensive side of the ball, the expectation is that the team would select the best player available on that side of the ball.

And the team already had two highly paid receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, both Pro Bowl-caliber, plus Jalen McMillan coming off of an eight-touchdown season. Wide receiver was one of the deeper positions on the roster. Why take yet another receiver?

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka Is A Clear Top-Tier Player In This Draft

According to consensus there was a very narrow crop of truly elite players in this year’s draft. According to many analysts the number of blue-chip players available before any team had a chance to select was less than five. Now research shows that around 15 players from this crop will become an All-Pro at some point. Assuming every team has the same five consensus players, that leaves 10 wild cards.

If you are a team picking at No. 19 and a player who you believe is one of those 15 blue-chippers is still available, you take him. You especially take him if the fall off from 15-100 is negligible. And in this class, that is very much the line of thinking.

The Bucs didn’t get bad value at all with Egbuka. Pro Football Focus had him exactly 19th on their board. Most other sites had him as a top 32 pick, worthy of a first-round value. But beyond the overall value, is the specific value.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka Photo by: USA Today

Route Running

Emeka Egbuka is the best route runner in this class. He understands his landmarks and can stay on time despite working through traffic. Body control through the route can be an underrated trait, but he can shift his upper body to avoid chips from linebackers and nickels passing him off in order to make his landmark within the rhythm of the play. When necessary, he can use his plus play strength to fight off jabs and feelers before using subtle body nods to throw defenders in the opposite direction of his stem.

Egbuka runs a full route tree but specializes in the most difficult aspects of the skill. He averaged over 12 yards per target on over routes and over 14 yards per target on digs per Hudl. And because of his explosive deceleration he creates easy separation. His average separation on all 103 of his targets last year was 4.2 yards. Matthew Golden’s was 3.7. Tetairoa McMillan’s was 3.4.

He is efficient with his feet, with very few wasted steps, each pace purposeful towards his desired destination. Against zone he understands defensive spacing and can create maximum distance between himself and droppers.

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— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) April 25, 2025

Hands

Perhaps the best part of Emeka Egbuka’s game is his hands. At 9.625 inches they are in the 69th percentile for his position. And he uses them well, consistently catching the ball away from his body. He ranked sixth among in this draft class with a 76.4% catch rate last year. And his career contested catch rate of 54.3% is well above average. In many ways he is like Chris Godwin in his ability to make tough catch-on-collision grabs over the middle to help keep the chains moving.

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— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) April 25, 2025

After The Catch

Emeka Egbuka averaged 6.6 yards after catch in his three years at Ohio State, per Pro Football Focus. As his role changed over the years that number went down. But it wasn’t because his traits in that area of the game diminished. Where he lacks the quicker-twitch, explosive movements of other players like Luther Burden III or Jaylin Lane, Egbuka makes up for it with football IQ, utilizing his teammates as natural screens and working to his blockers. And his best trait in this area is his ability to convert from receiver to runner without losing steam.

Follows his blockers. Identifies the lane. Uses blocks to eliminate defenders. Finds space. Cut back. Cut back. Cut back.

Yeah, the fumble sucks, but we are identifying traits here. pic.twitter.com/sXuaGFpEZ0

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) April 25, 2025

Route Tree

There isn’t really a limitation to Emeka Egbuka’s route tree. He received double-digit targets on go/fades, flats, hitches, outs and overs. Those five route combinations covered all three levels of the field and combined for 61% of his total targets. The two routes he did not run often were comebacks and curls, but he has the requisite pacing and deceleration to add those to his repertoire.

His ability to win deep is seen as a weakness of his game, but I think he can be just fine there. It won’t be his calling card. But Ohio State had plenty of other guys who were elite in that area, so they didn’t ask Egbuka to win in that way very often. His 4.48 40-yard dash isn’t elite, but his 1.50 10-yard split is. And it’s that initial burst that helps him catch defenders off guard when he pushes vertical so he can build a cushion. Then his ball tracking takes over and it is over.

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— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) April 25, 2025

In the clip above you can see he can clear 20 MPH.

Emeka Egbuka Will Help The Bucs Run Game

Emeka Egbuka will help the Bucs run game continue to move forward after a significant step forward last year. His radar is fantastic, and he engages defenders after coming to balance. Rather than throw a shoulder like many other receivers, he uses his hands to gain a latch, and he is not afraid to finish. This is the skillset that elevates receivers from #3/#4’s to bona fide full-time starters.

No block, no rock.

Emeka Egbuka’s blocking was all over the MSU tape. That won’t go unnoticed by NFL scouts. pic.twitter.com/3lE2Yfmb7g

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 1, 2024

The Fit In The Offense

Because many, me included, have comped Emeka Egbuka to Chris Godwin, many might question how he will fit into the Bucs offense. The beauty is that both players, along with Mike Evans have now shown they can play multiple positions within the receiver room. Evans will mostly play the X on the line of scrimmage. But he played so well moving into the slot last year, I have no doubt there will be packages with him inside.

Godwin has thrived as the F but can still win on the outside because of his play strength and can easily slip into the Z as a pre-snap mover. Playing to Egbuka’s strengths would place him at either the F or Z as well, but in small packages he can fight through jams as an X.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: USA Today

Looking at the best teams over the past several years you can find rosters that had flaws but relied on turning their strengths into super strengths. The Bucs are following this form of roster development by taking a top duo in Evans/Godwin that would rank in the top eight in the league and pushed it to a top trio group that is now arguably a Top 5 unit in the NFL.

This doesn’t relegate Jalen McMillan to an afterthought. Between Evans’ age and Godwin’s injury, the team will look to keep both rested more. There will be plenty of snaps for him to take advantage of. And now the team has much more insurance for a possible scenario that happened last year where both Godwin and Evans were out with injuries for a month.

The Bucs selected one of the highest floor players in the draft without sacrificing ceiling. There is a clear path to playtime in the short-term along with a plan for the long-term. Many may forget this, but Mike Evans is not under contract past 2025 and has actively talked about retirement. If he rides off into the sunset after this season, the Bucs are still set at one of the most important positions on the roster.

Makes sense to me.