The Tampa Bay Buccaneers threw a curveball in the 2025 NFL Draft that caught a lot of fans off guard. Coming into the draft on April 24, 2025, most expected the Bucs to bolster their defense—maybe grab an edge rusher to complement Vita Vea, or a linebacker to solidify the second level, or even an interior defensive lineman to shore up their front. Instead, they went in a completely different direction, selecting Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in the first round with the No. 14 overall pick. It’s a bold move, and one that signals Tampa Bay has big plans for the 22-year-old, both for the immediate future and the long haul. The vision? Egbuka is being groomed to eventually replace franchise icon Mike Evans as the team’s go-to outside receiver.
Mike Evans has been the heartbeat of the Buccaneers’ offense for over a decade, racking up 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons since being drafted seventh overall in 2014—a streak that’s still alive heading into 2025. At 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, he’s been the ultimate security blanket for quarterbacks from Jameis Winston to Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield, using his massive catch radius and red-zone dominance to haul in 97 career touchdowns, including a league-leading 13 in 2024. But Evans turned 31 last August, and at 32, he’s nearing the twilight of his career. He signed a two-year, $41 million extension in March 2024, which runs through 2025, but the Bucs know he won’t play forever. Evans has hinted at wanting to retire on a high note, avoiding the kind of late-career decline that can tarnish a legacy like his—already cemented with a Super Bowl ring from 2020 and a likely Hall of Fame trajectory. Drafting Egbuka now gives Tampa a succession plan, letting him learn from one of the best while preparing to take the reins.
Egbuka comes to the NFL with a stellar pedigree out of Ohio State, joining an impressive lineage of first-round Buckeye receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. While he may not have the same headline-grabbing hype as those names, his production in Columbus speaks for itself. Over 50 career games, Egbuka set the Ohio State record for receptions with 205, finishing with 2,868 yards and 24 touchdowns. Just last season, he hauled in 81 catches for 1,011 yards, showcasing his reliability as a pass-catcher. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, he’s got the size to play outside, and his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.72 ranks him as the 108th-best wide receiver out of 3,816 measured from 1987 to 2025—an elite mark that fits Tampa’s trend of targeting high-upside athletes in the first round. His testing numbers, including a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and a 38-inch vertical, back up what you see on tape: a smooth athlete with quickness off the line, great body control, and the ability to adjust mid-route.
What makes Egbuka a strong fit to eventually replace Evans is his skill set on the outside. He played 844 of his college snaps in the slot compared to 291 outside, but his physicality and route-running savvy make him a natural to transition to Evans’ role. He’s strong enough to handle contact downfield, evidenced by his 25 contested catches in college, and he forced 30 missed tackles after the catch, showing he can turn short gains into big plays. His route-running is crisp, with the ability to work in and out of breaks and re-adjust on the fly—skills that mirror the polish of Ohio State’s other NFL-bound receivers. The Bucs already have a slot successor for Chris Godwin in Jalen McMillan, a 2024 third-round pick who, at 6-foot-1, 192 pounds, profiles better inside. Egbuka’s slightly thicker frame and outside experience make him the better candidate to take over for Evans, who’s been a boundary receiver his entire career.
For now, Egbuka will likely start as a rotational piece, learning behind Evans and Godwin while getting snaps in three-receiver sets alongside McMillan. Tampa’s offense, which ranked 17th in the NFL with 341.2 yards per game in 2024, could use the infusion of youth—especially with Godwin coming off a season-ending ankle injury in December 2024 and Evans showing occasional signs of wear, like a lingering hamstring issue that limited his practice reps late last year. Egbuka’s presence gives Mayfield a new weapon to grow with, and if he can develop a rapport early, he might even steal some starting snaps as the season progresses. The long-term vision, though, is clear: the Bucs see Egbuka as the heir apparent to Evans, a player who can keep their passing game humming for the next decade. If he lives up to the hype, Tampa might just have found their next great receiver to carry the torch in the post-Evans era.
