There is no question that Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has what it takes to be a special wide receiver in the NFL.
The Bucs took him in the first round from the best school in the country at producing wide receiver talent, Ohio State, for a reason, and there were times in his inaugural pro football season in which he looked like a big star.
Egbuka blasted the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks, two of the best teams in the NFC, for 101 and 163 receiving yards in back to back games. It was at this time when Egbuka seemed to be already putting it together and looking like a high end WR2 in just his first season in the league.
But the wheels fell off for both the Buccaneers and Egbuka. Too much was thrust on the young shoulders of the wide receiver with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and many more offensive stars injured, and as Baker Mayfield struggled and Josh Grizzard's woeful play calling reared its ugly head, the drops, inconsistencies, and miscues began to pour in for Egbuka.
Emeka Egbuka fell way behind Panthers star
So at the end of the season, the NFL has released its list of nominees for the 2025 Rookie of the Year and despite all the early season fan fare and all his talent, Emeka Egbuka was nowhere to be found on the list. Carolina Panthers star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan outproduced Egbuka and squeezed by his rival to make the cut. New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough also made it in after an inspired second half of the season, joining New York Giants sensation Jaxson Dart as the two signal callers on this final list of six.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Browns top linebacker Carson Schwesinger deservingly represented the defensive side of the ball. Las Vegas Raiders elite running back Ashton Jeanty obviously got in, while New England Patriots star back Treveyon Henderson rounded out the finalists.
It is difficult to argue that Egbuka belongs on the list above any of them, and even Tampa Bay Buccaneers can not defend all the drops and issues in the second half of the season. Those mistakes do not doom Egbuka as a player, and everyone should still be very high on the first round pick's long term potential.
But just based off his rookie year, he was not at McMillan's level at wide receiver, certainly not as good as the running backs overall, not as impactful to his team as the rookie quarterbacks in a difficult sitaution, and definitely not as impressive as Schwesinger's hard hitting. Egbuka's time will come, but it is decisively not now.