HEADLINES

Emeka Egbuka

Buccaneers Draft Emeka Egbuka At No. 19

April 24th, 2025 at 9:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

A number of defensive prospects were linked to the Buccaneers during the pre-draft process. Tampa Bay has instead added at the receiver position, though, selecting Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka. It’s the second time in as many years that the Bucs have added to the receiving corps with a Day 1 or 2 pick.

Playing alongside such NFL talents as Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Marvin Harrison Jr. during his years in Columbus, it’s impressive that Egbuka shined as much as he did at all for the Buckeyes. The 22-year-old didn’t land in the NFL because of his electric speed, as evidenced by a 4.48-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. Working mostly out of the slot, Egbuka made his impact with savvy route-running and instincts to feel out gaps in coverage.

While lacking elite size and speed, Egbuka still found his way to making impacts in 2022 and 2024. Despite some missed time affecting his 2023 campaign, Egbuka was able to record 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown contributions in the surrounding seasons.

Last season, the Buccaneers utilized Mike Evans and rookie Jalen McMillan on the outsides while working Chris Godwin in the slot for much of the start of the year. Adding Egbuka should give Tampa Bay plenty of flexibility to move Godwin around and work Egbuka as the primary slot wideout. A three wide receiver offense should likely feature Evans, Godwin, and Egbuka more often than McMillan, but the increased number of looks the offense can utilize could be really beneficial for Baker Mayfield and company in 2025.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Packers Host Emeka Egbuka; WR Visited Cowboys

April 8th, 2025 at 10:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

The top of the 2025 receiver class is not held in the same regard as previous drafts. Nevertheless, teams in need of pass-catching help are doing homework on the best options in this month’s event.

One of those is Emeka Egbuka. The Ohio State product met with the Cowboys recently, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He adds a visit with the Packers also began yesterday and will continue today. Both teams have been mentioned as potential suitors for an early draft addition, so this news comes as no surprise.

Dallas saw Brandin Cooks depart in free agency, creating a vacancy at the WR2 spot. The Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb atop the depth chart for years to come, but a complementary group featuring Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Tolbert and returner KaVontae Turpin could stand to see an addition. Stephen Jones recently confirmed the Cowboys are in the market for a receiver addition, which could consist of a veteran signing or using an early draft pick at the position.

The Packers have deployed a young array of players at receiver and tight end in recent years. Many observers have called for the arrival of a true No. 1 wideout to allow for Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton and Christian Watson to serve in more of a complementary role. The latter’s January ACL tear will lead to missed time in 2025, so a rookie selected early in April could have a path to immediate playing time. Green Bay has not taken a receiver on Day 1 of the draft since 2002.

It remains to be seen if Egbuka will hear his name called in the first round, but he is among the top options at the WR spot in 2025. The senior spent his entire four-year career at Ohio State, setting the school’s all-time record for receptions with 205 and playing a central role in the team’s national title in 2024. The No. 17 prospect on NFL Network Daniel Jeremiah’s board, Egbuka profiles best as a slot receiver at the NFL level. He is joined by Colorado’s Travis Hunter (he if plays on offense upon being drafted), Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Texas’ Matthew Golden as a receiver firmly on the first-round radar.

Both the Cowboys (set to select 12th overall) and Packers (23rd) fell short of the top 10 in passing yards last season. Improving in that department could include using a high draft pick on a receiver, and Egbuka will be a name to watch for those teams.

2025 WR Draft Class Lacking Top-End Talent

February 26th, 2025 at 8:11pm CST by Ely Allen

There seems to be a theme developing throughout the 2025 NFL Draft as we continue to draw nearer to the NFL Scouting Combine. There’s a consensus beginning to form that this draft lacks top-end, star talent, instead providing a deep group of likely starters and contributors. We’ve seen this assertion circulate with the quarterbacks and offensive tackles in this class already, but more recently, this opinion is starting to be applied to wide receivers, as well.

NFL fans have been spoiled in recent years with plenty of no-brainer, star first-round receivers from Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers in 2024 to Drake London and Garrett Wilson in 2022 to Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith in 2021. This year’s crop more closely resembles the 2023 draft, in which a wide receiver wasn’t drafted until Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, and Jordan Addison were all chosen consecutively from pick Nos. 20-23.

Colorado’s Travis Hunter sits atop most draft boards, but the consensus seems to be that this is either because of his potential as a defensive back or his potential to contribute on both sides of the ball, however unlikely that may be in the NFL. Behind Hunter, players like Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, Missouri’s Luther Burden, and Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka are routinely seen as the next top options for the position.

For a time, McMillan was seen as the top wide receiver prospect, even being considered more valuable as a receiver than Hunter. As pundits and scouts have done deeper dives into the class, though, concerns have arisen over McMillan’s deep speed, per ESPN’s Matt Miller. He still ranks easily as a first-round pick, thanks to a large frame that makes him an easy mismatch over most defenders, but that lack of top-end velocity is seemingly keeping him out of the top 10 picks. On ESPN’s First Draft Podcast, Mel Kiper Jr. claimed that McMillan is being viewed more in the range of picks from Nos. 12 to 22, per Nick Kendell of the Mile High Huddle.

Still, after Hunter and McMillan, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah sees a lot of receivers like Burden, Egbuka, and Texas’ Matthew Golden that he believes will be polished professionals in the back third of the first round, according to a breakdown he did with The Ringer’s Todd McShay and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

We may not see a surge of receivers taken in the top 10 like we’ve seen plenty of in recent years, but the lack of star power does not take away from the depth of the position. Wide receiver is typically a bit of a crapshoot in the first round of the draft, and this group is likely to continue that trend, but with how the position’s draft stock is shaping up, those risks will be coming later in the first round.