After three weeks of the NFL season, five teams remain winless, and two are in the state of Florida. Both Sunshine State squads received major blows on Monday morning; Miami Dolphins star running back De’Von Achane was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was diagnosed with a dislocated thumb, keeping him out for at least three weeks.
In previous seasons, Tampa Bay has supported Mayfield with experienced backups, as Kyle Trask developed familiarity with the Buccaneers’ system and Teddy Bridgewater made 65 career starts. Mayfield has also been extremely healthy, making every possible start over the last four seasons. That’s all set to change; instead of opting for an experienced backup, Tampa Bay will enter the Week 4 matchup against the Green Bay Packers with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels in the QB1 role.
Daniels’ elevation to the starting role instantly changes the fantasy calculus for the Buccaneers’ wideouts, Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin, who were already off to slow starts because of Mayfield’s struggles.
Results and Usage
As is, both wideouts have been mediocre fantasy assets. Egbuka had a respectable five catches for 63 yards in Week 1 and five catches for 62 in Week 3, but his Week 3 effort wasn’t very efficient, as he required nine targets to do so. Godwin has a high catch rate, hauling in 10 of the 11 passes that Mayfield has thrown his way this season, but he hasn’t recorded more than 43 yards in any game and trails both running back Bucky Irving and rookie Ted Hurst in targets.
In general, Tampa Bay’s offense has been a disaster. The Buccaneers rank 27th in total yards, and they rank 26th in passing yards despite attempting passes at the 13th-highest rate. By Pro Football Focus’ standards, Tampa Bay has had the league’s second-worst offense, ahead of only the Packers, who have been without running back Josh Jacobs and just lost wideout Jayden Reed to a neck injury. Todd Bowles’ seat was already hot, but it’s hard to describe it as anything but scalding now.
Godwin ranks 37th of 107 qualified receivers by PFF’s offensive grades, the second-worst mark of his career (ahead of only last season, when he was limited to just nine games because of leg injuries). Egbuka, meanwhile, ranks just 46th, exactly the position he finished in last season. So far, Egbuka is WR28 and Godwin WR50, so they’d have to improve significantly with Daniels under center.
Future Outlook
Daniels is one of the least accomplished and least tested backup quarterbacks in the league. He played six seasons at Kansas, but he only played a full season in 2024 and 2025, leading the Big 12 in interceptions in 2024 and completing just 57.0% of his passes. Daniels then completed 62.1% of his passes for 2,531 yards, 22 touchdowns, and seven picks as a senior while adding 404 yards and four scores on the ground, but the Jayhawks went just 5-7. His athleticism and scrambling ability could be assets, but he entered the league lacking pocket presence and consistent technique.
Still, he showed some flashes during preseason, going 27-for-44 for 239 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions to beat out veteran Jake Browning, who had previously completed 68.5% of his passes for 2,707 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 15 picks over the course of his NFL career. Daniels was solid on deep passes in college, and Egbuka’s average target has come 12.5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, so Daniels’ strengths could work with his. Godwin, who has among the shallowest average targets of any high-volume receiver this season, could struggle, given that Daniels posted an atrocious 57.4 passing grade on throws of zero-to-nine yards in his final season at Kansas.
In general, I expect Zac Robinson to lean more heavily on running backs Kenneth Gainwell and Irving. Although the Buccaneers rank just 30th in rushing attempts this season, they’ve been fairly efficient on the ground, ranking 10th in yards per carry. Furthermore, Robinson has used his running backs frequently in the passing game, as Irving ranks second on the team in targets and Gainwell has garnered 10 of his own. It’s consistent with Robinson’s prior coaching philosophy; before joining Tampa Bay, he was the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator, and Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson garnered 103 targets last season, the second-most among running backs and the 33rd-most among all players. Irving is not Bijan Robinson, but he’s solid enough as both a runner and a receiver to be the focal point of an okay offense.
To be fair, Green Bay’s defense is in poor form, as it just conceded 35 points to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football, but Drake London’s nine-catch, 194-yard (31.4-FPT) performance aside, the Packers have some solid numbers. They’ve conceded the 12th-fewest receiving yards while getting pressure at the fourth-highest rate, which could be especially problematic against an untested quarterback in Daniels. Green Bay still has a very strong safety core that features Evan Williams, Jevon Bullard, and Xavier McKinney, and while the secondary is average overall, Zac Robinson would be better off targeting the Packers’ run defense, which has allowed the fifth-most yards and the most touchdowns. I wouldn’t start either Egbuka or Godwin.
