{"id":915282,"date":"2026-06-10T16:54:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/915282\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T16:54:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:54:30","slug":"buccaneers-emeka-egbuka-must-improve-a-crucial-part-of-his-game-to-be-wr1-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/915282\/","title":{"rendered":"Buccaneers’ Emeka Egbuka Must Improve a Crucial Part of His Game to be WR1 in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers <\/a>are expecting a lot from Emeka Egbuka in 2026. <\/p>\n

The team drafted him in the first round in 2025, and he began his rookie season looking like one of the NFL’s best wideouts, scoring five touchdowns in his first five games. He slowed down significantly after that, though, and he only had one touchdown from Weeks 10-18. There are plenty of things this could be attributed to \u2014 rookie inexperience, poor playcalling from Josh Grizzard and a hamstring injury in Week 6 all among them \u2014\u00a0but there’s one trend in his game that was evident from the beginning of the year, and it’s one he needs to correct.<\/p>\n

ESPN analyst Mina Kimes recently went over her X-factor players for every NFL team during the latest episode of the Mina Kimes Show, and she went in-depth while discussing one of Egbuka’s biggest flaws from 2025 \u2014 his woes in man coverage. <\/p>\n

Emeka Egbuka Must Improve Against Man Coverage\"Los<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (14) breaks up a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

“I think he was awesome, but it’s worth noting that most of [his first five weeks] were against inferior competition,” Kimes said<\/a>. “I think there was a little bit of grade inflation going on… if I had to pinpoint one thing about Egbuka, it’s this \u2014 I think he’s much better against zone than man. Against zone, he was 22nd in yards per route run, against man that was 61st. Against off [coverage] he was 17th, against press he was 64th. I do think as the year went on, defenses kinda keyed in on that a little bit.”<\/p>\n

There is certainly something to be said for Egbuka’s troubles outside of zone coverage. Even when he was at his best, he still struggled with it \u2014 he had an EPA\/play of +0.213 and a success rate of 46.0% against zone coverage in Weeks 1-9, but that significantly dropped to -0.337 EPA\/play and a success rate of 32.7% in man off coverage, per SumerSports. Egbuka was also tied for 92nd of 120 ball-catchers among players with 45 or more targets in average separation (2.6 yards), per NextGenStats<\/a>, making it an area he must improve on next year.<\/p>\n

Egbuka certainly benefited from less attention at the beginning of the year, with Mike Evans serving as the main antagonist for most NFL defenses. Evans’ numerous injuries left him without that for a good chunk of last year, and now that Evans has departed to San Francisco, he’ll be without it again.<\/p>\n

Wide receivers Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan will command plenty of attention, and newly-drafted wideout Ted Hurst could make a few appearances in the X position. Egbuka will also have a new offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson, and he’ll be coming into the year healthy after tweaking his hamstring in Week 6 vs. the 49ers. <\/p>\n

The stage is set for him to make a big jump in his second year, so it will be interesting to see just how this aspect of his game improves \u2014 or worsens \u2014 in 2026. <\/p>\n

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