BuccaneersFan.com • Player Spotlight • Tampa Bay No. 2
Current official portrait: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Wide receiver • Second NFL season
From the Pacific Northwest to the Krewe
Emeka Egbuka
- Born
- October 14, 2002
- Hometown
- Steilacoom, Washington
- Listed size
- 6 feet 1 inch • 205 pounds
- High school
- Steilacoom High School
- College
- The Ohio State University • 2021–2024
- Draft
- April 24, 2025 • Round 1 • No. 19 overall
- Rookie signing
- May 9, 2025
- Buccaneers
- 2025–present
Sources: Buccaneers profile, club media guide, Ohio State biography and 2025 transaction record. Steilacoom is his listed hometown.
Source: the club’s signing announcement and completed college totals. NFL figures stop after November 1, 2026 (Week 8), checked November 3.
Before Emeka Egbuka became a Buccaneer, he had another sport’s coaches interested. The Steilacoom standout was a baseball player with college offers as well as a football recruit. Football ultimately carried him from Washington to Ohio State, a national championship and Tampa Bay. The club’s account of his background.
For the Krewe, the appeal is easy to see: a receiver who can make the afternoon’s biggest catch, with a thoughtful approach to the smaller details that help create it. His story has room for a homecoming highlight, a college diploma and the patient work of learning an NFL offense.
Steilacoom → Columbus → Tampa Bay
Three places, an expanding opportunity
2019 A memorable junior season.
Egbuka helped Steilacoom reach its first state championship game. In that 2A final, he caught 18 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The Bucs’ background report also describes a student who maintained a 4.0 high-school GPA. His high-school beginnings.
2021–2024 A Buckeye’s development.
He enrolled at Ohio State in January 2021, before Washington’s delayed high-school season, and did not play a senior prep campaign. His four years in Columbus brought two 1,000-yard receiving seasons and a national title. The university’s career account.
2025 The first-round arrival.
Tampa Bay selected Egbuka 19th overall. He signed before his first rookie-minicamp walk-through, beginning his professional career with a four-year contract and the standard first-round fifth-year team option. The May 9 signing announcement.
October 5, 2025 • Week 5 at Seattle
A homecoming with plenty to remember
Receiving yards
163
SEVEN CATCHES • ONE TOUCHDOWN
Seven targets, seven receptions.
A return to his home region.
TAMPA BAY 38 • SEATTLE 35
Egbuka caught Baker Mayfield’s 20-yard touchdown pass on third-and-15 and added a 57-yard reception that helped set up another score. In a game decided by Chase McLaughlin’s last-second field goal, the rookie supplied an afternoon of major gains. The official game recap.
It was a fine introduction for anyone meeting Tampa Bay’s new receiver that day, and an especially satisfying chapter for a Washington native. Watch the club’s Egbuka highlights.
Preparation, timing and a receiver’s choices
The work that comes before the catch
During his first training camp, Egbuka described a drive to improve that came from within. The club’s July 2025 report connected that approach with his route precision, changes of pace and attention to how a route develops against coverage. He had worked primarily in the slot at Ohio State while preparing to handle multiple NFL receiver positions. His rookie-camp approach.
There were experienced teachers close by. In the 2025 offseason, the Bucs reported that Chris Godwin and Mike Evans helped explain concepts during walk-throughs alongside the coaches. That gives the early part of his Tampa Bay story a practical setting: learning the play, discussing the detail and taking it onto the field. The account of his first offseason.
For fans watching a receiver before the throw, those details offer something useful to follow. Look at his pace, the defender’s position and the moment he changes direction. A catch begins well before the ball reaches his hands.
Status at this update: Egbuka missed Weeks 7 and 8 of 2026. The club’s November 1 report attributed the second absence to a foot injury and stated that he had cleared concussion protocol late that week. The dated inactive report.
NFL regular season • 2025–2026
His Tampa Bay receiving record
The season table follows Egbuka’s receiving production from his rookie year through Week 8 of his second season. The 2026 row is a partial-season snapshot; inactive games are identified in the weekly record.
His first season brought a 2025 PFWA All-Rookie Team selection, Sporting News Rookie of the Year recognition and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month award for September 2025. These honors recognize his arrival in the league from three different perspectives. The club’s honors record.
| Season | G | GS | REC | Yards | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | 13 | 63 | 938 | 14.9 | 77 | 6 |
| 2026* | 6 | 6 | 28 | 240 | 8.6 | 21 | 2 |
| Career | 23 | 19 | 91 | 1,178 | 12.9 | 77 | 8 |
G = games played; GS = games started; REC = receptions; AVG = yards per reception; LNG = longest reception; TD = receiving touchdowns. The statistical note explains the source checks and calculated averages.
Statistics and calculation note: Season receiving counts use the official career record; current appearances, starts and targets are checked against the NFL gamebooks. Career average is calculated as 1,178 yards ÷ 91 catches = 12.9, matching the career tab and correcting the summary profile’s inconsistent 11.8. All averages use exact yards and receptions; LNG is the longest catch. *2026 is partial. TGT = targets. Weeks 7 and 8 are confirmed inactive games; their receiving entries are dashes, and neither counts as an appearance. Current receiving totals cover six starts. Rushing figures are reported separately. Gamebooks: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8.
2026 game-by-game receiving • through Week 8
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Status | G | GS | REC | Yards | AVG | LNG | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/13 | @ Cincinnati | L 27–33 | Started | 1 | 1 | 5 | 63 | 12.6 | 17 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | 09/20 | Cleveland | L 19–23 | Started | 1 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | 09/27 | Minnesota | L 16–23 | Started | 1 | 1 | 5 | 62 | 12.4 | 21 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 10/04 | Green Bay | L 14–17 | Started | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 10/08 | @ Dallas | W 24–16 | Started | 1 | 1 | 6 | 38 | 6.3 | 21 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | 10/18 | Pittsburgh | L 19–26 (OT) | Started | 1 | 1 | 7 | 48 | 6.9 | 16 | 1 | 16 |
| 7 | 10/25 | @ Carolina | W 43–13 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | 11/01 | Atlanta | W 16–0 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total | Through W8 | Tampa Bay | Team 3–5 | 6 played | 6 | 6 | 28 | 240 | 8.6 | 21 | 2 | 49 |
Scores show Tampa Bay first; @ means an away game and OT means overtime. An inactive designation is different from an appearance without a reception. Tables scroll horizontally on small screens.
Sources: official game log and career record, checked against the gamebooks described in the statistical note.
Another way to reach the end zone
Receiving is only part of his offensive record. Egbuka ran twice for nine yards in 2025 and twice for 11 yards through Week 8 of 2026. The latter includes his first NFL rushing touchdown, a 14-yard jet sweep at Dallas on October 8, 2026, in Tampa Bay’s 24–16 win. That score is separate from his receiving touchdowns. The rushing totals; the Dallas milestone.
NFL postseason: Egbuka has no playoff appearances at this cutoff. Tampa Bay did not qualify after his 2025 rookie season, and the 2026 postseason had not begun. His college championship games are documented separately below.
Ohio State Buckeyes • 2021–2024
A lasting receiving record in Columbus
Egbuka left Ohio State with the program’s career receptions record and its second-highest receiving-yard total. His final season added 81 catches, 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns, and he earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition from the conference’s coaches in 2024. His rankings at departure; the final season totals; the conference recognition.
Ohio State season-by-season receiving • including bowl and playoff production
| Season | REC | Yards | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | 191 | 21.2 | 85 | 0 |
| 2022 | 74 | 1,151 | 15.6 | 69 | 10 |
| 2023 | 41 | 515 | 12.6 | 28 | 4 |
| 2024 | 81 | 1,011 | 12.5 | 68 | 10 |
| Career | 205 | 2,868 | 14.0 | 85 | 24 |
College figures are separate from NFL totals. The final season includes all four games of the 2024 championship run, even though three were played in January 2025. Receiving totals follow the official school record; inconsistent participation counts across school summaries are not used here.
Sources: Ohio State’s final season statistics for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, with the championship gamebooks linked below.
The 2024 season • Four playoff victories
A captain on the national champions
Ohio State’s route to the title ran through Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame. Egbuka caught at least five passes in each game. His 42-yard touchdown against Oregon came in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal, and he finished with six catches for 64 yards in the January 20, 2025 championship victory over Notre Dame. The Oregon box score; the championship box score.
The four games of Ohio State’s 2024 championship run
| Date | Round | Opponent | Result | REC | Yards | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-21 | First round | Tennessee | W 42–17 | 5 | 81 | 16.2 | 40 | 0 |
| 2025-01-01 | Rose Bowl · Quarterfinal | Oregon | W 41–21 | 5 | 72 | 14.4 | 42 | 1 |
| 2025-01-10 | Cotton Bowl · Semifinal | Texas | W 28–14 | 5 | 51 | 10.2 | 14 | 0 |
| 2025-01-20 | National championship | Notre Dame | W 34–23 | 6 | 64 | 10.7 | 24 | 0 |
| 2024 season | Four-game run | Ohio State | 4–0 | 21 | 268 | 12.8 | 42 | 1 |
This is a closer look at production already included in the 2024 college row, not an additional career total. Sources also include the official Tennessee and Texas box scores.
A degree, a leadership role and a chosen cause
More than the receiving line
Education and trust at Ohio State
Egbuka completed his marketing degree in December 2023. He had earned second-team Academic All-America recognition in 2022, and his teammates voted him one of Ohio State’s four captains for 2024. The university’s announcement brings those parts of his college experience together: classroom achievement and a responsibility to help lead the team. The captain and education announcement.
Special Olympics on his cleats
For his first My Cause My Cleats campaign in 2025, Egbuka chose Special Olympics. The Bucs’ announcement identified his support for athletes with intellectual disabilities. The initiative gives players a visible way to draw attention to an organization through custom footwear. The club’s cause announcement; his campaign page.
Follow the route
Getting to know No. 2
The Seattle afternoon supplies the highlight, while the preparation and college years give it context. Egbuka’s Tampa Bay career is still taking shape. For the Krewe, there is plenty to follow in the route itself, the conversation before it and the next chance to make a play.
Sources & statistical notes
Updated November 3, 2026. NFL figures stop after November 1, Week 8. The championship breakdown is part of the completed college record; it is not NFL postseason production.
- NFL biography and current status: Buccaneers profile, 2025 transactions and November 1, 2026 inactive report.
- Football milestones: Seattle homecoming, first rushing touchdown and rookie preparation.
- Ohio State: career biography and captaincy, degree and academic honors.
- Community: 2025 My Cause My Cleats. Additional game and statistical sources appear beside their tables.