Ohio State’s top two wide receivers are perfect complements to one another and also happen to both be top-flight prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. Emeka Egbuka doesn’t have quite as much NFL Draft hype as his teammate Marvin Harrison Jr., but his scouting report speaks of exciting upside and projected role flexibility at the NFL level.
Emeka Egbuka Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 205 pounds
- Position: Wide Receiver
- School: Ohio State
- Current Year: Junior
Egbuka joined the Buckeyes in the same recruiting class as Harrison Jr. In fact, Egbuka was the higher-rated recruit coming out of high school. A five-star recruit out of Steilacoom, Washington, Egbuka drew comparisons to past early-round picks. And now that he’s eligible, it appears as though he’s following that same trajectory.
Alongside Harrison in 2022, Egbuka racked up 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns while also adding 87 yards and two scores on 11 carries. As both a RAC weapon and a surgical independent separator, Egbuka has extremely enticing potential, and it’s that potential that makes him a likely Round 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Emeka Egbuka Scouting Report
Strengths
- Uniquely built WR with a lean, compact, yet long-limbed frame and solid density.
- Explosive long-strider who can use urgent yet expansive strides to surge downfield.
- Brings instant acceleration out of stems, which he can use to easily stack displaced DBs.
- Has the flexibility to maintain stride lengths while bending and accelerating into space.
- With high-end change of direction, can freely swivel and stack lateral transitions.
- Master zone navigator with anticipatory feel for spacing, hip sink, and throttle freedom.
- Always intentional with head fakes, eyes, and pad level, and has a full route tree.
- Will use controlled leans to dictate DB angles upfield and exploit overaggression.
- Combined burst, flexibility, deception, snap, and IQ yield elite separation potential.
- Able to make high-difficulty adjustments in stride while extending beyond his frame.
- Reacts extremely quickly when contorting and positioning his hands in tight spots.
- Incredibly consistent hands-catcher with sturdy technique, sharp timing, and patience.
- Versatile, instinctive run-after-catch weapon that can be schemed a variety of touches.
- Able to absorb solo hits with contact balance and churn his legs through tackle attempts.
- Can use swipes and arm-bars to scrape through contact over the middle of the field.
Weaknesses
- Very explosive but works better with room to open up his strides.
- Long speed falls a tick short of the breakaway mark when attacking seams.
- Occasionally lets the ball get into his frame when securing passes over the middle.
- Plant-and-drive footwork can be more efficient on routes breaking back toward the ball.
- Sometimes has wasted motion on his releases and can be more efficient with agility.
- At times, can be more precise fighting through contact, experiencing delays in press.
- Doesn’t quite have the sheer mass to bowl through sequential tacklers.
- Sometimes overshoots blocking angles and fails to strike cleanly with hands.
- Is more equipped to obstruct as a blocker than serve as a primary displacing force.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
While Harrison Jr. is my top overall prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, Egbuka is not far behind him. Egbuka also grades in my top five and rests on the blue-chip fringe.
Like his teammate, he’s a WR prospect worthy of early first-round capital, and in any other class, he’d have legitimate WR1 stock. In Harrison Jr. and Egbuka, Ohio State could have an even more potent duo than Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
Egbuka isn’t quite as long as Harrison or as refined when it comes to using his physicality as a separation aid, both against press and at stems. That ultimately makes up much of the difference between them. But when you run Egbuka’s profile through the three-level threat framework, his physical tools and his projected versatility begin to shine.
As an athlete, Egbuka is extremely explosive, fluid, and flexible, with more than enough vertical speed. He can sear and slice his way through zone coverage looks but also has the intentional movement, snappy suddenness, and spatial awareness to win in man coverage.
At the catch point, he’s a hyper-instinctive converter with rare coordination and reaction speed, and after the catch, he’s a 205-pound weapon with balance and urgency.
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While Harrison projects to the X role, Egbuka can be a dynamic movement Z receiver with near-unmatched alignment and usage versatility.
Coaches can scheme him touches on jet sweeps, swings, drags, screens, and other short routes. But he also has the full route tree and complete skill set to be employed in countless other ways. With his high-end tools and his ability to blend into many different roles, Egbuka is no doubt a Round 1 prospect.