Brian Hartline, Emeka Egbuka And Jalen McMillan
April 25th, 2025
New Bucs rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka.
A few interesting nuggets came out of the Bucs’ first-round pick chatting with local media late last night.
First, it’s always fun when a family member unknowingly interrupts a Zoom call. Egbuka did not look pleased.
More interesting to Joe was Egbuka noting how he’s been friends with Jalen McMillan since high school. They didn’t go to school together but had played 7-on-7 ball.
Also noteworthy to Joe was Egbuka already hearing from a happy Baker Mayfield. The highly composed Egbuka seems like he’s drooling to get to work.
As many college football fans know, Brian Hartline is the Ohio State offensive coordinator and receivers coach. What many fans may not remember is how Hartline was an NFL success story out of Ohio State, a fourth-round Dolphins pick in 2009. Hartline went on to back-to-back 1,000-yard season in 2012 and 2013. That was no easy accomplishment on bad Dolphins offenses with Ryan Tannehill throwing the football.
Egbuka mentioned how well coached he was in college and prepped for the NFL. Obviously, the tradition of stud OSU receivers backs that up, but Egbuka talking about it was a strong reminder.
Egbuka also acknowledged that as a Washington kid from the Northwest, he’s got to acclimate to the Florida heat and powerful sun.
“I can’t wait to get a little darker,” he said.
April 25th, 2025 at 9:43 am
Josh Grizz’s Spread 2.0 adapts flag football principles to the NFL, focusing on speed, space, and constant motion. With interchangeable personnel and endless formations, the offense creates mismatches and forces defensive indecision. The system uses RPOs, jet motion, and vertical attacks to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, while leveraging power runs and quick passes. Defenses struggle with hesitation, as they can’t predict whether it’s a run or pass. Spread 2.0 isn’t just a playbook—it’s a philosophy that could revolutionize NFL offenses.
April 25th, 2025 at 9:44 am
After doing some research, Emeka Egbuka appears to be one of the best blocking WR. He will not only help in the passing game but also with the run.
April 25th, 2025 at 9:46 am
All these players from Washington….
Vea, McMillan, Otton.. good…….JTS….not so good.
This kid, Egbuka is impressive….top notch character….smart guy….good on his feet with press…..a Godwin clone in more ways than one.
April 25th, 2025 at 9:51 am
It’s essentially flag football modernized for the NFL. By combining the Run and Shoot with a power-run Spread and Mike Shanahan’s “every play looks the same” concept, it transforms how offenses operate. Players have roles, not fixed positions, constantly moving to create confusion. With RPOs, jet motions, and vertical routes, the offense stretches the field and forces defensive hesitation, blurring the lines between run and pass. It’s a fast-paced, dynamic system that leverages motion and mismatches to keep defenses guessing—similar to flag football, but at NFL speed. Theoretically, they should score every time they have the ball. And, if they don’t draft any defensive players over the next two days, they might need to.
April 25th, 2025 at 10:13 am
The most common theme seems to be complaints about not addressing the needs on defense. The most common examples seem to be an edge or the Alabama lb’er the Eagles selected.
Licht is being criticized for ignoring our needs and drafting an offensive player when we already have the 4th best scoring unit in the league.
The Eagles are being praised by these same people for how incredible their already great defense will be now that they’ve chosen the player most of our critical fans wanted.
It’s as though they cannot see the contradiction.
April 25th, 2025 at 10:19 am
Was surprised but NOT upset with this pick. Egbuka is my favorite offensive player in this draft for a Bucs fit and as much as people want to ignore, we do have questions marks at WR.
How much does Evans have left?
What do we have with Godwin?
Is Mac the pedestrian we saw the first 12 games or the stud we saw the last 6?
Insert Egbuka and these questions have a softer landing.
April 25th, 2025 at 10:21 am
Well said^ I love Mike and Chris but this is the NFL – 30 something’s at WR drop off real fast…
This was a super smart move, we are gonna be picking in the 30’s next year when we put up 35 pts every week
We literally spent a month with no WR options last season, this was a huge need/depth/future investment selection
April 25th, 2025 at 10:32 am
It’s not a bad pick in anyway. Especially the Bucs track record in picking WR in the last 11 years. I am sure this kid will be really good. Doesn’t stop the glaring hole in the defense though. We have issues at DE, CB, LB and Safety. At some point David can’t be the only reliable LB at his age. Defense needs major help.
April 25th, 2025 at 10:33 am
Nick Saban — “He’s͏ t͏he best al͏l-around rec͏e͏iver to ͏me,” he added.͏ “This guy’͏s a matur͏e, i͏nte͏lligent player that͏’s very re͏liable in terms of ͏making p͏la͏y͏s.”
April 25th, 2025 at 10:34 am
I feel like Jason might have non-draft plans to fill some defensive holes
April 25th, 2025 at 10:35 am
Did you guys see the morons who drafted tight ends over the freakish OLBs and DTs I saw get drafted?
Chicago is so dumb.
Mykel Williams looks cut and NFL ready.
Kenneth Grant the DT looks legit.
Jalen Walker looks like a freak.
Nolan fhe DT from Ole Miss looks like a freak.
Shemar Stewart looks like a freak.
They all looked like MEN!
These SEC OLBs were freaks!
The colts and bears are soooo dumb!
They passed on these guys?
Also, Jeanty looked VERY small next to rhe female journalist interviewing him.
The raiders are also dumb.
You could see the difference between MEN and boys in fhe 1st round
April 25th, 2025 at 10:41 am
I would hope that the many folks yelling and screaming for BPA are happy. There were issues with many of the D players available at that pick. We went with the guy without any issues. I’ll be more excited about it if we can get one of the remaining D players that we talked about in 1st, in the 2nd.
April 25th, 2025 at 10:56 am
He’s not a bad wr. It’s just that he is a pick for depth/the future, our window is NOW!
April 25th, 2025 at 10:59 am
Welcome aboard Emeka! You’re gonna be great here 🙂 ignore the ones who hate the pick.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:01 am
I’m so happy that Jason Licht is the GM and not some of you dolts in this comments section. Don’t worry, they’ll take some defensive pieces too. The draft is MUCH more than just 1 round lol
April 25th, 2025 at 11:11 am
BucRumor the Eagles and Bucs drafts are completely different and it’s not an accurate comparison nor a contradiction. The Eagles ALREADY have a SB championship roster. They have proved the OFFENSE and DEFENSE is talented enough to WIN a SB. So it’s not overkill for them to draft more defense. In fact I would state that it’s even more egregious for us to draft offense when our defense is not even capable of winning against playoff caliber opponents and advancing. In three years this pick will be strong. But as far as getting us closer to a SB THIS YEAR, it does almost nothing for that.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:13 am
Reference is made to Josh’s comment reattached here:
Josh Grizz’s Spread 2.0 adapts flag football principles to the NFL, focusing on speed, space, and constant motion. With interchangeable personnel and endless formations, the offense creates mismatches and forces defensive indecision. The system uses RPOs, jet motion, and vertical attacks to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, while leveraging power runs and quick passes. Defenses struggle with hesitation, as they can’t predict whether it’s a run or pass. Spread 2.0 isn’t just a playbook—it’s a philosophy that could revolutionize NFL offenses.
Who is going to sit between 3 wrs, a te, and a rb, which includes a hofer, a big 4 guy, a roy, another near roy, and an underrated te. like baseball extra players give you more options, but are you getting your money? if it works, what about after grizz is a hc somewhere else (unless tb is retiring soon?
i get the argument of making your strengths stronger, but we were hurt by not adapting on defense to what josh is saying, not bc we werent doing it ourselves. jason argued it was a depth and future move, i see, but you will need rule changes to go much farther with the spread imo, and i dont see them coming yet.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:14 am
They gonna pick up that Carson Schwesinger guy tonight… Just as Ronde said
April 25th, 2025 at 11:20 am
One thing we know about Licht after a decade is that he sure loves locker room fits…..
Egbuka seems like one of those guys who’ll fit right in with a thriving Bucs culture.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:33 am
Appreciate the thoughtful response Matthew, but I have to push back a bit. Spread 2.0 doesn’t *need* rule changes to take over—it needs full buy-in. The framework is already legal and effective within today’s rules. You’re seeing pieces of it everywhere—49ers/Rams motion, Miami’s speed, Chiefs’ spacing—all working because teams have adapted.
The reason teams like the Buccaneers get burned isn’t just because they’re not running it—They’re also not equipped to *stop* it. We lagged in adapting defensively to these principles, and that hesitation has proven costly. Saying it won’t work long-term without rule changes feels premature. The tools are already there; it’s already being used, so it’s about usage—not legality.
As for what happens if Grizz leaves—if the system works, you build an identity that outlasts the coach, just like any successful culture. Hence Canales and Coen leaving and hopefully seeing no change or actually improvement in production.
Now, on another point: to even hope to stop this scheme, you need four man-cover corners. Pass rush becomes irrelevant when the ball is out in under three seconds. This is literally an adaptation of what Brady did with the two-TE set under Belichick and McDaniels in New England. The league is cyclical—and speed+power always kills.
What I feel you’re overlooking is that Spread 2.0 is still a *power run* scheme at its core—built around a strong offensive line and a physical, downhill runner. It integrates zone, RPO, and option concepts seamlessly, but it all traces back to classic fundamentals. It’s “a seal here, a seal here,” and you run the play in the alley—just like Lombardi preached. We’re using modern spacing, motion, and tempo to create lanes, but the DNA is old-school physical football with new-school execution.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:39 am
I’m very impressed with Emeka after watching his press conference.
I’d also watched some tape of him before the draft.
He’s clearly going to be a great weapon on the field and an excellent fit in the locker room.
I’m just still scratching my head and wondering why we went offense when we have so many pressing needs on defense.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:42 am
I’m so glad you mentioned this, buy-in is so crucial when we have the talent on offense that we do. I really see it from the guys too and it feels like we are such a unit on the field.
I’m not worried about the offense at all in this regard because the verteran personnel that we have in the locker room couldn’t be better to get the new guys to buy-in to the system and the culture. Egbuka fits so well into that and have no problem with the pick in that regard.
I am worried about the defense. LVD is another perfect leader for the D but outside of that, Vea, AWJ, dare I say Jamel Dean are our most senior guys. I don’t think he runs the system at an effective enough level to be a leader on it. Attitude and culture, yes absolutely, but the game is played on the field. Seeing his interpretation of the system (the way he plays), I wouldn’t try to replicate that at all.
The culture is there, no doubt about that, but I need to see something today that gets me excited about the defense.
April 25th, 2025 at 11:43 am
Oh—and as for who sits? **No one does.** That’s the beauty of this system: you rotate, keep guys fresh, and when the fourth quarter hits, you’ve still got juice. Everyone stays involved, engaged, and dangerous. It’s not about resting stars—it’s about weaponizing depth. You keep that pace, that tempo, and you *wear teams down.* Then, when it matters most? You’ve got fresh legs and full energy chasing the ultimate goal: **the playoffs. WHOOO! I CAN FEEL IT!!**
It’s the same model Philly used with Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts. Wentz laid the foundation for the offense with timing, structure, and rhythm. Then Hurts stepped in and elevated it—adding the QB run threat, the read-option element, and the true dual-threat versatility that makes defenders guess on every snap. That’s the blueprint: build the identity first, then bring in the quarterback who can *maximize* it.
We ALL LOVE BAKER he is 30…
April 25th, 2025 at 11:50 am
rule changes are going to come imo for whatever would help kc, dallas, the ny and la teams. only 2, maybe 3 of that group has champlionship upside. what i meant by big 4 is chris is a big $ guy, bad typing. sitting a te is not an option imo, you need the blocking. you might even see more 2 tes like the big ten imo.
anyway, the pick is a no doubter as a guy you want on your team.over 10 years. the other options may just not have been good enough, i dont know for sure. in the end i trust jason, sorry to argue with him, i would be pleased to be proven wrong.
April 25th, 2025 at 12:00 pm
I love the pick, and love even more how triggered the know it all Simple Jacks are because “their idea” was wrong. And of course the Eagles got Jihaad Campbell. LOL, Rich get richer. 31 teams passed on his shoulder. When you’re the defending champs, you can afford that risk.
And for the super genius who wanted Shadeur Sanders – ROTFLMAO! You’ll probably get another chance to throw your tantrum, he’ll likely be there still when the Bucs pick someone else in round 2, haha.
April 25th, 2025 at 12:34 pm
Gotta agree with many others
Love the pick.
Depth at WR is critical.
April 25th, 2025 at 12:59 pm
We spent a month without a good wide receiver option, I agree. But we spent a year without a good safety or CB option. Should have gone D.
April 25th, 2025 at 1:06 pm
I would have liked the pick in the 3rd round a lot better. Leaky, porous defense caused the Bucs a legitimate chance at a Super Bowl appearance last year. Happy to hear he’ll block well once Bucky is 30-40 yards down the field.
April 25th, 2025 at 1:25 pm
All 32 nfl owners should hire their next gm from all these experts in the comments
April 25th, 2025 at 3:16 pm
Hearing more about him after the pick, and rewatching highlights, he’s pretty much exactly what I was thinking – an incredibly safe pick who will do very well in the NFL, but probably won’t be a star. The number I keep seeing in my head is a guy who catches around 900 yards a year and gets 6 TDs – and guys like that are really valuable, even if they’re not the most exciting. With that said, my brain is stuck with 16-game schedules, so with 17 games and a little luck, you’re not over 1000 yards, which would make everyone happy.
With that said, in future years if he’s the full time slot WR, he could volume his way well past those numbers – I wouldn’t be shocked at all by that. Plus the likelihood of him being a bust is almost nothing, the only risk is injury, which is true of any player.
April 25th, 2025 at 3:39 pm
Always take the best players available Always
April 25th, 2025 at 3:47 pm
@Josh
Where did you get the label spread 2.0?
RPO’s?
Has Grizz been discussing the offense and his plans somewhere the rest of us don’t know about? I’m sure some of his plan can be determined based on his influences and history, but it sounds like you have a blueprint the rest of us aren’t privy to.
Curious where/how you came up with Grizz’s plan/scheme/strategy at this point in time.
April 25th, 2025 at 7:14 pm
AlabamaBucsFan Says:
April 25th, 2025 at 9:44 am
After doing some research, Emeka Egbuka appears to be one of the best blocking WR. He will not only help in the passing game but also with the run.
I had posted something earlier where someone did a vid breakdown of EE’s blocking showing several missed blocks – I *think* (props to Josh) it was Steve Smiths’ vid, but not sure.
Since then, it appears the blocking of EE is quite good, actually. I stand corrected.
Excellent football player and what a great interview. Happy we landed him!
April 25th, 2025 at 7:22 pm
Oh sorry, I meant to type:
I *****************************************************************************************************THINK*****************************************************************************************
LOL (just being sarcastic Josh).
Go Bucs ! ! !