The Buccaneers have won their first two contests in late-game thrillers on the road, and they’ll look to stay undefeated as they come home this week to face the Jets. One of the stars of the early season has been rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka, but Egbuka is now dealing with an injury ahead of Week 3. Let’s take a look at the Bucs’ receiver situation and see what to expect from Mike Evans and the rest of the pass-catching corps if Egbuka is out or limited this week.
The 2-0 Buccaneers are 6.5-point home favorites over the 0-2 New York Jets on DraftKings Sportbook with the point total set at 41.5.
Emeka Egbuka Injury Update
Egbuka has started the season as the Bucs’ No. 2 receiver with both Chris Godwin (ankle) and Jalen McMillan (neck) sidelined. Egbuka had a pair of touchdowns in Week 1 while catching four of his six targets for 67 yards. In Week 2, he caught four of his seven targets and added another touchdown, with a couple of other very close near misses that could have been long touchdowns.
This week, Egbuka missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with hip and groin injuries, but he was able to get in some work in Friday, which could mean he’ll be a game-time decision on Sunday against the Jets. He is officially listed as questionable.
If Egbuka plays, he will remain a great option for the high-volume passing attack led by Baker Mayfield. However, if he is limited or out, there would be more work available for the rest of the receivers.
Mike Evans Fantasy Football Outlook
Evans already is getting plenty of attnetion, but he would probably be the first in line for more work, as well. He caught five passes for 50+ in each of the first two games of the season.
Evans had eight targets in Week 1 against the Falcons and 11 targets in Week 2. He played 83% of snaps in Week 1 and 79% in Week 2, but Egbuka actually played more, with 93% of snaps in both weeks. If Evans gets more snaps and more targets, he could be set for an immense Week 2.
Last year, Evans had six of his 11 touchdowns in his seven home games and went over 85 yards in three of those contests. He had two multi-touchdown games at home, and without Egbuka, that outcome definitely is within the realm of possibility.
He will have a difficult matchup with Sauce Gardner, but the Jets did give up over 100 yards to opposing receivers in both of the first two weeks of the season. Last week, top receiver DK Metcalf hauled in four catches on seven targets for 83 yards in the Steelers’ win over the Jets.
Evans is by far the most established Bucs pass-catcher, and if Egbuka is out, some of the other options will have to step up. Alternative players who could get more targets include Sterling Shepard, Ryan Miller and tight end Cade Otton.
Shepard had three catches for 39 yards in Week 1 and four catches for 34 yards in Week 2. Miller has only had one catch this season, but that one catch was a key 20-yard touchdown in the team’s 20-19 win over the Texans in Week 2.
The Bottom Line
While Shepard and Miller could get more work, Mike Evans will have the potential for so many targets if Egbuka is out that he’s a must-start in almost all formats. He is a red-zone threat all the time, but would be even more the focal point in Egbuka’s absence.
Evans has a $6,600 salary in Week 3 DFS contests like the NFL $3.25M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. He’s a strong pay-up play poised for a monster game if Ebuka is out or limited. Shepard at $3,600 and Miller at $3,000 would also be dart throws worth considering, since Baker Mayfield does a good job spreading the ball around and finding openings in the defense.
