As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers flounder in their quest for a fifth consecutive NFC South title — they’re currently tied with the Carolina Panthers at 7-6 — rookie phenom Emeka Egbuka has been in somewhat of a slump. The 23-year-old caught just two passes for 15 yards in Tampa Bay’s Week 14 loss to the New Orleans Saints and had a critical drop towards the end of the game on a high throw that would have tied the game.
Egbuka will need to bounce back in tonight’s Thursday Night Football clash against the Atlanta Falcons, which begins at 8:15 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium. He’ll have more competition for touches, though, since Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan were both activated from Injured Reserve after lengthy injury absences.
The Buccaneers are 4.5-point favorites for tonight’s marquee matchup at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set to 44.5. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bet centered around Egbuka.
Best Emeka Egbuka Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Emeka Egbuka 50+ Receiving Yards (+100)
Egbuka should have a great chance to get back on track against a defense that he torched in Week 1 for four catches, 67 yards, and two scores, including the game-winner. Though he hasn’t reached 50 receiving yards in a game since Week 10, it hasn’t been for a lack of opportunity: he’s received eight or more targets in each of the last seven weeks, and he’s appeared in at least 80% of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps in all but three seasons. If his drops — five in the past five weeks — don’t dissuade Baker Mayfield from throwing to him, he should continue to have a major role in the offense, and his production should normalize. Evans is a 32-year-old coming off of a long layoff and McMillan is returning from fractured vertebrae in his neck, so they’re more likely to command defensive attention than targets.
Plus, some of his recent struggles can be explained by his opponents. The Los Angeles Rams, against whom he had just 32 yards in Week 12, easily lead the league by Pro Football Focus’ coverage grades this season, and the Saints have allowed the seventh-fewest yards to opposing wideouts and the Buffalo Bills the 11th-fewest. The Falcons should provide somewhat of a respite tonight: though they’ve allowed a merely average number of yards to wideouts, they’ve been among the most gettable on a per-play basis. Plus, Atlanta loves to run zone coverage, and Egbuka has been far more effective against zone than against man this season.
