The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have struggled to stay healthy this season, with star wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin Jr. both missing time with injuries.
Fortunately for them, star rookie Emeka Egbuka has held down the fort in their absence, developing a strong chemistry with Baker Mayfield. He’s one of the leading candidates to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, but as much credit as he deserves for his strong play, he’s also had some great mentors.
Emeka Egbuka Says The Bucs’ WR Room is a “Cheat Code”
In a clip shared by the Bucs’ social media, the rookie out of Ohio State gushed about his relationship with Godwin and Evans, explaining how big an impact they’ve had in his development, “You know, kind of having both of them is a cheat code, too,” the rookie said. “Because they’re, they’re very different in the way that they think.”
“I think Chris is very methodical and planned out and everything,” Egbuka said. “He’s a little more wired my way. And Mike, whenever I asked Mike for advice, sometimes he’ll give me a genuine answer, but other times he’ll just be like, ‘Dude, like, you’re Emeka Egbuka. Just go out there and ball.’”
Egbuka added that Evans isn’t as insightful as Godwin, but he’s also helped him by hyping him up and letting him know that he’s the real deal:
“Yeah, okay, like, [Evans] just gives me so much confidence. Like, he believes in me and just fills me with so much like, ‘OK man, I’m gonna go do this.’ So kind of having both [types of insight], it’s just a cheat code. They’ve taught me so much, even within this short amount of time I’ve only been here for, I don’t even know how many months, but it feels like I’ve known them for forever,” he added.
Egbuka’s 79.4 PFSN impact metric ranks 24th among wide receivers, and he trails only Packers’ Matthew Golden among rookies in that regard.
Through the first eight games of his NFL career, the former Buckeyes star is up to 34 receptions on 63 targets for 562 yards and a team-high five touchdown receptions.
He’s also leading the team with 70.3 receiving yards per game.
The Bucs will likely get Godwin (lower leg) back on the field for the first time since Week 5, but Evans will still be out for the long run with a collarbone injury, so Egbuka will continue to do most of the heavy lifting for Todd Bowles’ passing game.