The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping that their key players on offense can stay healthy in the 2026 NFL regular season so they can be much more effective than they were last season when they began the season with whispers of being Super Bowl sleepers but then ended it not even making the playoffs at all.
Although the Buccaneers lost franchise legend Mike Evans at wide receiver to another NFC playoff contender in the San Francisco 49ers, the Bucs are optimistic that the weapons around Baker Mayfield will be even better after drafting rookies Bauer Sharp and Ted Hurst, signing Kenny Gainwell, and re-signing Cade Otton at tight end.
But for the Buccaneers, the biggest source of upside is the growth from young receivers Tez Johnson, Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan, who are all being touted by different NFL analysts as possible breakout stars for the 2026 NFL season.
Emeka Egbuka can be Buccaneers' No. 1 wide receiver
No player, though, has the raw tools and upside of Egbuka, who flirted with 1,000 receiving yards last season as a rookie and was so good at one point in the season that even Calvin Johnson was giving him a shoutout as someone who could break his single season receiving record one day.
In a recent post, veteran NFL beat writer Dan Pompei wrote for The Athletic that not only is Egbuka the main breakout star to watch for the Tampa Bay Buccaners in 2026, but that he is so good that he could potentially take the No. 1 job from star veteran receiver Chris Godwin Jr.
Pompei said of Emeka Egbuka, “This season, new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson says he is making Egbuka a full-time Z receiver. And the departure of Evans means Robinson and Baker Mayfield will be looking to establish a new No. 1 receiver.”
Godwin has been around the block for years, and though he was mostly in the shadow of Mike Evans, he was one of the best wide receivers in the NFL at one point and has really only been stopped from reaching true elite status in this league by nagging injuries.
Egbuka, though, has even more raw talent. He is a monster at the catch point, he has speed to burn down the field, and he is one of the biggest weapons in the league with the ball in his hands. Buccaneers fans have been wondering when, not if, Egbuka will be Baker Mayfield's No. 1 guy, and with this latest buzz, maybe the switch is happening in 2026.
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