Going into the NFL Draft we all assumed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would use the team's first-round pick on a key defensive position. That thought was reinforced when some top talent was still on the board at No. 19, which is why the decision to draft Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka confused so many.
Newsweek's Matt Galatzan named a best and worst pick for each NFC South team, and threw a wet blanket on the Emeka Egbuka hype. That's who he listed as the Bucs' worst draft pick this year, which doesn't make any sense at all.
In a vacuum, it's not a bad pick to label the 'worst', but calling it that is misguided. Perhaps the most surprising or out-of-place pick is a better way to describe the Bucs drafting Egbuka, because it was a bit of a wild card choice.
That doesn't, however, make it the 'worst' pick.
Buccaneers 'worst pick' is a reminder of how great their NFL Draft class was
What the real takeaway here should be is that Tampa Bay had such a solid draft class that the only pick anyone can say anything remotely negative about is Egbuka. That's a high bar to clear because even with it being such a random selection it still makes the Bucs a better team than they were before the draft.
Galatzan's reasoning isn't off-base; using a first-round selection on position that didn't need to be addressed is a risk. The only negative thing anyone can say, though, is that Egbuka is joining a receiver room that already includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan -- which is insane luxury.
Jason Licht already explained it as an insurance policy in the event the team loses one of its top receivers to injury, like we saw with Evans and Godwin last year, but it's also an investment. Baker Mayfield has all of the weapons he needs, plus first-year offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard is set up for success in ways his predecessors weren't.
If Dave Canales and Liam Coen parlayed the offenses they worked with into head coaching jobs, imagine what Grizzard will do.
Egbuka was a curious pick, but he's hardly someone who can be labeled the 'worst'. Time will tell how well the pick ages but in the aftermath of the draft it's pretty hard to feel anything other than excited about what he brings to the team.
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