Did the Buccaneers make a mistake drafting Emeka Egbuka in the first round?

The NFL Draft board ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' pick at No. 19 overall fell perfectly according to the team’s needs.

When Tampa Bay was on the clock, the front office had a choice of top defensive prospects, including edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, cornerback Jahdae Barron, safety Malaki Starks, and inside linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

The team had been heavily linked to all four of those defensive players, who could’ve filled needs for Tampa Bay, but general managerJason Licht surprisingly opted to use his first-round draft choice on Emeka Egbuka, a wide receiver out of Ohio State University.

Drafting a wide receiver in the first round with the defensive talent that was available was a shocking decision on its own. What made it even more unexpected was that Egbuka wasn’t even the receiver the Bucs were rumored to be targeting if they did decide to draft a receiver in round one.

All of the rumors were connecting Tampa Bay to Matthew Golden, but the wide receiver out of Texas was drafted No. 23 to the Green Bay Packers instead.

The Bucs were successful in masking their interest in Egbuka by setting a masterful smokescreen projecting interest in Golden instead of their true target.

Drafting Egbuka Could Pay Long-Term Dividends in Tampa Bay

The Bucs are well aware of their defensive shortcomings, and so to overlook top defensive prospects in favor of Egbuka, they had to have been very high on the young receiver.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound, 22-year-old eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns twice during his Ohio State career. He finds himself in good company, joining Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. as recent Ohio State receivers drafted in the first round.

For a college with such a rich recent history at wide receiver, Egbuka stands out even among the elite group. His 205 receptions rank first in program history, and his 2,868 receiving yards rank second in program history. He and Harrison Jr. are the only two receivers in program history to record multiple 1,000 yard seasons.

The Bucs already have a stacked wide receiver group which is why the pick caused some uproar, but Jason Licht is looking at the big picture here. Mike Evans is 31 years old and entering the final year of his contract in Tampa Bay. He likely only has a few years left in his career.

Chris Godwin is 29 years old and coming off his second major injury, and his timeline is currently unknown.

Jalen McMillan also battled some injuries last season, missing the first four games of his NFL career. He missed additional time later in the season due to a hamstring injury.

The Bucs had games last year where their top three options were all injured, and they had to rely on Trey Palmer, Sterling Sheperd, Rakim Jarrett, and Ryan Miller as their top wide receiver options. With all due respect to those guys, the Bucs were correct to add a stronger insurance policy to help Baker Mayfield.

Adding Egbuka not only gives the Bucs receiver room some much-needed reinforcement, but also presents long-term upside. In the not-so-distant future, Egbuka has the potential to follow in the footsteps of Evans and Godwin and develop into the next great Buccaneers receiver.

Now that the Bucs have made a splash by making a surprise luxury pick in the first round, they will have to use the rest of the draft class to revamp their defensive unit.

Expect the Buccaneers to add multiple defensive backs, an inside linebacker, and potentially an edge rusher before the 2025 NFL Draft comes to an end.

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