Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield Has Glowing Scouting Report On Emeka Egbuka originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had everyone thinking they were going defense in the first round of the NFL Draft, but instead, selected Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka.

Now, Baker Mayfield has perhaps one of the best collections of skill position players in football with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Cade Otton, Bucky Irving, and Rachaad White making up the offense.

That is quite the list of players.

But as for Egbuka, he might find it hard to get targets given who is likely ahead of him in the depth chart, right? 

Well, maybe not if Mayfield’s words about the rookie are anything to go by.

“He [Egbuka] has a natural feel to his route running,” Mayfield said via CBS Sports. “He has a good feel of getting to the right spots in zone. He’s extremely smart. His head was never spinning. He was getting other guys lined up. He’s polished.”

For a rookie to be that “polish” at this stage of the offseason is a big feather in his cap, and what the addition of Egbuka does, is allow Godwin, who is still recovering from a nasty ankle injury that ended his 2024 season in Week 7, to go about his rehab and not rush his return.

The Buccaneers are gaining more momentum as an NFC dark horse given the abundance of weapons on offense, and it is easy to envision Todd Bowles’ team winning the division (again) and Mayfield continuing his career resurgence in Tampa.

Granted, this is all a projection, but with Egbuka now in the line-up, Baker has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, and based on how Emeka has started his NFL journey, expect him to begin his career with a bang.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.