Emeka Egbuka’s introductory Buccaneers press conference showcased the qualities that made the team’s front office fall in love with him during the draft process, leading to his surprising selection at No. 19 overall.
Egbuka has an impressive on-field résumé. He’s the latest in a long line of Ohio State wide receivers to be selected in the first round, joining the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave.
Even among that star-studded group, Egbuka stands out — his 205 receptions rank first in Buckeyes history, while his 2,868 receiving yards place him second all-time in the program. He joins Harrison Jr. as the only two receivers in program history to record multiple 1,000 yard seasons.
His production speaks for itself, but it was Egbuka's work-ethic and team-first mentality that made him the in-house favorite in Tampa Bay.
"Our staff just feels so rock solid about the person and the player," general manager Jason Licht told reporters.
"He checks all the boxes as a player and as a person. That made it an easy choice," reiterated head coach Todd Bowles.
Bowles went on to further emphasize the importance of Egbuka’s character, both on and off the field, and how highly the Buccaneers valued it during the draft process.
"The character of the man especially tells you a lot about the player. It is very rare that you have the character and the player match up. There's a lot of good ones in the league right now, but when you meet the rare ones that have both and are equally great at both, that tells you all you need to know," said Bowles. "That's the kind of guy you want to draft, me and Jason [Licht] were on the same page wholeheartedly with this one."
Bowles’ comments reflect just how highly the Buccaneers value Egbuka, both as a player and as a person. He has consistently demonstrated his ability to perform at a high level, both in terms of production and leadership.
When asked about his strengths, Egbuka highlighted his pride in his ball-tracking ability, which he credits to his background as a baseball center fielder.
"I believe one strength that I've always had that I've taken a lot of pride in is ball tracking and catching the ball," Egbuka said. "I think that there's never been a ball in the air that I felt like was a difficult catch or that I couldn't track."
Egbuka's combination of skillset, production and character will get Buccaneers fans very excited. He has already demonstrated his selfless attitude sharing targets in a crowded receiver room, and will do more of the same in Tampa Bay. As he continues to develop and grow into a bigger role in the offense, Egbuka will benefit from learning behind the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan.
The more we learn about Egbuka, both on and off the field, the clearer it becomes that he’s a home-run selection for Tampa Bay.
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