Last season, Emeka Egbuka took the NFL by storm as a rookie, recording 25 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns in his first five career games to help buoy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Chris Godwin still recovering from the dislocated ankle that ended his 2024 season.
However, teams seemed to figure Egbuka out towards the end of 2025, as he averaged just 32.6 receiving yards per game over the final eight games of the campaign as the Buccaneers went 2-6 to miss the playoffs. So far this season, Tampa Bay is 0-2, struggling in losses to both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns.
The road won’t get easier from here; next, the Buccaneers will face the Minnesota Vikings and vaunted defensive coordinator Brian Flores, rendering Egbuka (a must-start fantasy asset early in his career) worthy of consideration for a benching. Egbuka is still rostered in 98% of Yahoo Sports fantasy leagues, but he’s only started in 75%.
Results and Usage
Egbuka was Tampa Bay’s best receiver in the Week 1 loss to Cincinnati, hauling in five of his six targets for 63 yards, but he didn’t record a single target after the second quarter, as Baker Mayfield mostly operated through running backs Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell, as well as rookie Ted Hurst. He did catch a touchdown pass in the Week 2 game against Cleveland, but he finished with just three catches for 16 yards and one carry for negative-three yards.
Egbuka graded out as roughly a league-average receiver as a rookie, finishing 61st among 128 qualified pass-catchers by Pro Football Focus’ offensive grades, and so far this season, it’s been much of the same (52nd of 107). On the bright side, he’s produced slightly more separation on his routes (an average of 2.9 yards, as compared to 2.6 yards last season), but after managing 0.8 more yards after the catch per reception than expected in 2025, he’s dropped back to 0.5 so far.
To be fair, it isn’t all bad. His success and catch rates are much higher in 2026 than in 2025, and he’s yet to drop a pass after dropping nine (the fifth-most in football) in 2025. Additionally, he’s helped Mayfield record a 122.9 passer rating on his targets, a top-quartile mark among receivers this season. Given his 14.5-yard average depth of target, that’s a fairly impressive figure; of the 22 wideouts with a deeper average target, only seven have helped their quarterbacks produce a better passer rating.
Future Outlook
It all depends on Mayfield, who’s struggled this season despite receiving a three-year, $165 million extension late in the summer. Although the former first overall pick has completed 71.0% of his passes, he’s managed just one touchdown and one interception, and he’s averaging his second-fewest yards per game while taking sacks at a career-high rate. He’s been more aggressive than ever, averaging his most intended air yards per passing attempt since his rookie season — which could work well for a deep threat like Egbuka — but he’s averaging his fewest completed air yards per passing attempt. Mayfield ranks just 28th among 33 qualified quarterbacks by PFF’s standards, his lowest ranking since 2022.
Plus, under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, Tampa Bay’s offense has been pretty egalitarian. Egbuka is merely tied for the team lead with 11 targets along with Irving and tight end Cade Otton, and Hurst has garnered 10. Godwin has only received seven targets, but he’s hauled each of them in for a team-leading 86 yards, so Mayfield might trust him more than Egbuka moving forward. Robinson also tends to operate a run-heavy offense; he was the play-caller for the Atlanta Falcons in 2025, and they attempted the 12th-most carries, with Bijan Robinson also hauling in 79 catches. Of course, Irving isn’t as talented as Bijan Robinson, but Zac Robinson’s tendencies seem to have carried over when he made the move south.
Despite their performance against the Bears, which was played in rainy and windy conditions, the Vikings rank fifth-to-last by PFF’s coverage grades. However, their raw numbers are much more impressive; they’ve applied pressure at the second-highest rate because they operate by far the NFL’s most blitz-heavy scheme, and they’ve held opponents to by far the worst completion percentage and the seventh-lowest passer rating. That could be especially problematic for Mayfield, who’s been the fourth-worst quarterback under pressure so far this season and posted the eighth-worst grades in such situations last season. James Pierre and Isaiah Rodgers have been among the best cornerback duos in football this season, ranking 11th and 14th, respectively, by coverage grades. Each was similarly excellent in 2025. Egbuka is worth a start in deeper leagues, but I’d keep expectations low.
