The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already seen wide receiver and 2025 1st round pick Emeka Egbuka struggle. It was what ultimately defined his rookie season after he fell off the map down the stretch.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay predicts more of the same for Egbuka in his 2nd season, putting the former Ohio State star at the top of his list of 2nd year NFL players headed for a “Sophomore Slump” in 2026.
“With Mike Evans joining the San Francisco 49ers in free agency, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be turning to Emeka Egbuka to plug the massive hole created by the franchise icon’s departure,” Kay wrote. “Unfortunately for the Bucs, their sophomore wideout may not be ready to fill Evans’ massive shoes. Although Egbuka looked like one of the steals of the 2025 draft after racking up 677 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 40 catches over his first nine games, he suffered a massive dip in production from Week 11 on … ball security was an issue for Egbuka during the latter portion of the campaign, with the wideout committing six of his nine total drops after Week 8.”
The result of Egbuka’s struggles — and the team’s struggles as a whole — was an 8-9 record after a 5-1 start that saw them miss the postseason for the 1st time since 2019.
Emeka Egbuka Plays Blame Game in Offseason
One sign that Egbuka might be maturing and ready for a WR1 role would be taking accountability for his struggles as a rookie. Unfortunately, he seems to have done the opposite.
Taking a page from head coach Todd Bowles’ playbook, Egbuka decided to deflect blame to former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, who was fired after 1 season.
“We fell into a little bit of a lull as an entire offense,” Egbuka said during an appearance on the “Up & Adams” show with Kay Adams. “We got a new offensive coordinator, so we’re ready to put all those pieces together.”
Egbuka Disappeared Down Stretch for Buccaneers
Egbuka, the No. 19 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, led the Buccaneers with 63 receptions for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns as a rookie.
No one was more emblematic of the Buccaneers’ struggles down the stretch than Egbuka. Through the 1st 9 games of the season, he had 40 receptions for 677 yards and 6 touchdowns and was the odds-on favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
In the final 8 games of the regular season, Egbuka had 23 receptions for 261 yards and no touchdowns, including 3 games with 20 or fewer receiving yards.
Egbuka had his worst game of the year in the regular-season finale against the Carolina Panthers — 1 reception for 8 yards. To add insult to injury, fellow rookie and Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with 70 receptions for 1,017 yards and 7 touchdowns.
“After Week 11, Emeka Egbuka was the -120 betting favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year,” Covers wrote on its official X account January 13. “After voting, he won’t even be a finalist for the award.”
Now, for the 5th year in a row, the Buccaneers will have a new offensive coordinator following Byron Leftwich (fired), Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, and Grizzard, who is now the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Staying in the NFC South: Buccaneers are finalizing a deal to hire Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson as their offensive coordinator, per sources,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on January 22.
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