The countdown to the Bucs’ 2026 season is on. Right now, we’re:
79 days away from Bucs regular season kickoff
49 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff
33 days away from Bucs training camp
In the lead-up to training camp, Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams will be diving into storylines for 26 key figures who will be crucial to the Bucs’ success in 2026.
Today, the series continues with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
26 For ‘26: Emeka Egbuka Bucs Storylines In 2026
How Much Will A Full Offseason Benefit Emeka Egbuka?
It’s fair to say 2025 was quite the whirlwind for Egbuka. He ended his final season at Ohio State with the ultimate exclamation point, helping the Buckeyes to a national championship after a senior season that saw him catch 81 passes for 1,011 yards (12.5 avg.) and 10 touchdowns. But the national title game wasn’t played until Jan. 20, meaning that final season extended deep into the first month of the year. That also meant less down time before his draft prep began.
Just about a month later, Egbuka was at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Only a month after that, he had Ohio State’s Pro Day in Columbus. One month after that? The NFL Draft. In between all of these massive, life-changing events was the hard work, too, as Egbuka had to train and take pre-draft visits with different teams throughout the league. And unsurprisingly, the whirlwind wasn’t over for him, as he was in Tampa the day after being selected by the Bucs with the No. 19 overall pick in the draft.
Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
From there, it was right into rookie mini-camp, OTAs and mandatory mini-camp. The only real break Egbuka got was the one the rest of the team got, which was about a month to a month and a half in between mini-camp and training camp. But once the former Buckeyes star was back to work in Tampa, it was full speed ahead toward his rookie season. It was an impressive rookie season, too, as he caught 63 passes for 938 yards (14.9 avg.) and six touchdowns.
Egbuka started off the 2025 campaign hot. He had a two-touchdown game in Week 1, then had back-to-back 100-yard games in Weeks 4 and 5 with a touchdown in each game as well. He had another 100-yard performance in Week 10 after the Bucs’ bye week, but that’s when his rookie season took a bit of a turn. Whether it was the “rookie wall,” the lack of a true offseason catching up to him or a little bit of both, Egbuka was relatively quiet down the stretch for Tampa Bay. At one point, he looked like a lock to reach the 1,000-yard mark and was the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Neither accomplishments came to pass.
So, the question is this: How much will Egbuka benefit from a full offseason in 2026? Speaking to the media after one of the Bucs’ mini-camp practices earlier in June, the 23-year-old receiver said he feels like he has his legs back underneath him again after actually getting to take some time off. He feels like he’s strong, healthy and in shape, and he looks the part, too. That should bode well for the Buccaneer offense. Because as good as Egbuka was for much of his rookie season in 2025, he could show up fresher and even better in 2026.
Can Emeka Egbuka Be WR1 For The Bucs In Year 2?
The Bucs wide receiver room has a Mike Evans-sized void in it now that the greatest offensive player in franchise history in a San Francisco 49er. Tampa Bay should be just fine with the crop of pass-catchers it has, with Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson and Ted Hurst leading the way at receiver, Cade Otton at tight end and both Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell catching passes out of the backfield. Quarterback Baker Mayfield will have options in the passing game. That much is clear.
Bucs WRs Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. Photo by: USA Today
What’s not clear is who will establish a role as Mayfield’s WR1 with Evans gone. This is Godwin’s room now, as he’s the lead veteran presence with four 1,000-yard seasons, a Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl ring to his name over his nine seasons as a Buc. His leadership and experience will be a massive plus for the room, which is full of younger, less-experienced players. But with that said, Godwin isn’t necessarily a lock to be WR1 in Zac Robinson’s offense.
While he could be the kind of chain mover he was in Liam Coen’s offense before his injury two years ago, Godwin is entering his age-30 season, and it remains to be seen whether he will ever fully return to the player he once was. That’s why it may be Egbuka who is set up to be the Bucs’ true WR1. He has a season under his belt and will be able to settle into one position a bit more this year after moving around so much as a rookie. That ability to move around could still play to Robinson’s advantage as a play caller, though, and his all-around skill set could make him the go-to guy for Mayfield.
Not to mention, the Bucs clearly drafted Egbuka with the idea that he would eventually be the heir to the WR1 role. His first-round draft status actually makes him a higher pick than anyone else in the room, as Godwin, McMillan and Hurst were all third-rounders while Johnson was a seventh-rounder. It’s still early, but it could be time for Egbuka to take on the “top guy” role in the Tampa Bay passing game.
Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
If Egbuka is set to be a higher-volume, WR1 type, it’ll help that he was forced into playing that role earlier than planned as a rookie. When injuries struck the receiving corps in 2025, it was Egbuka who had to be the No. 1. He drew the tougher matchups and got more attention those weeks, so he’s been through it and should be ready to handle it in Year 2. The one hangup would be his catch rate. He had just 63 catches on 127 targets last year (49.6%). He’ll have to improve upon that to take on a WR1 role. Cutting down on the nine drops he had as a rookie would be a start.
Is Emeka Egbuka Set Up For His First Career 1,000-Yard Season In 2026?
It looked for a long while in 2025 like Emeka Egbuka was going to hit the 1,000-yard mark as a rookie. He had 445 yards through the first five games of the season and had 677 with eight games to go. That meant he only needed to average 40.4 yards per game over the second half of the season to break the 1,000-yard threshold. But he couldn’t quite do it. Instead, he averaged 32.6 yards per game down the stretch, with the Bucs going 2-6 in those games.
Egbuka posted 40 yards against the Bills, 32 against the Rams, 42 against the Cardinals, 15 against the Saints, 64 against the Falcons, 40 in the first Panthers matchup, 20 against the Dolphins and had just eight yards in what turned out to be the 17th and final game of his rookie season. In the end, he finished with 938 yards, a painful 72 yards short from the 1,000 that seemed to be such a sure thing early on in the season.
Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: USA Today
Will Egbuka get there in Year 2? There’ll be some factors working in his favor as well as some working against him. On the positive side, he could be poised to take that WR1 role we just talked about now that Mike Evans is gone. With no Evans, it could be Egbuka who is putting up the big numbers week in and week out for the Buccaneer offense. Once again, an improved catch rate helps. Imagine if he had turned even five of those nine drops into catches for another 50 yards and he and Baker Mayfield connect on a few others out of those 127 targets? He gets to 1,000 yards.
What also works in his favor is the fact that Tampa Bay has so much talent at receiver. As much attention as he might draw from opposing defenses, coordinators will still have to worry about the likes of Chris Godwin Jr., Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson and Ted Hurst. But therein lies one of the factors going against Egbuka’s quest for a first career 1,000-yard season, though. What if there’s no true WR1 for the Bucs in Evans’ absence? With so much talent at receiver, it could be an aggregate/by committee approach where it’s Egbuka with a 100-yard game one week, McMillan with a big day the next and Godwin going off for the two weeks after that.
Bucs WRs Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The volume of targets could be spread much more evenly throughout the receiving corps. That could mean the Bucs don’t have a 1,000-yard receiver at all in 2026 and instead have a crop of guys with 600-800 yards each. That, combined with the potential for a lower depth of target for Egbuka than what he saw in Josh Grizzard’s more vertical passing attack, could hurt Egbuka’s chances. He had longs of 30, 30, 77, 57, 30, 24, 31, 32 and 40 at different points last year. Maybe he’ll get those chances in Zac Robinson’s offense, and maybe he’ll create those explosive plays with his YAC ability.
In the end, though, Egbuka – like Evans before him – is about winning. His maturity and mentality were a big factor in the Bucs spending the No. 19 overall pick on him a year ago, and that’ll continue to show. If Egbuka is around 750 yards while Tampa Bay goes 11-6 and wins the NFC South, what does that matter to him? Nonetheless, a 1,000-yard season out of the 2025 first-round pick would likely mean good things for the Buccaneer offense. So, it’s fair to want to see that happen for No. 2 in Year 2.
Catch Up On Previous Installments Of Bailey Adams’ 26 For ’26 Series
Bailey Adams is in his fifth year with Pewter Report. Born and raised in Tampa, he has closely followed the Bucs all his life and has covered them in some capacity since 2016. In addition to his responsibilities as a beat writer, he also contributes to the site as an editor. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2019 and currently co-hosts The Pegasus Podcast, a podcast dedicated to covering UCF Football.
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