Time For Emeka Egbuka To Be Like Chris Godwin
April 27th, 2025
First-round pick wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Joe guesses some readers are sick of Joe referring to new Bucs first-round pick Emeka Egbuka as a Chris Godwin clone.
Joe gets it, but Joe is hardly the only one doing it.
When Egbuka came into One Buc Palace on Friday to be introduced to the local community, Egbuka said he’s proud of those comparisons. But now comes the responsibility to live up to them.
“I think when you think about those players (Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Godwin), they’re kind of the type of guys that are always open – great route-running, high football IQ, very accountable,” Egbuka said. “I welcome those comparisons. I feel like all three of the people you just named are very, very good football players.
“Especially just being able to learn from Chris [Godwin]…I know a lot of people have made comparisons with me and him and now me being here in Tampa, just the kind of character he has, from what I hear – high IQ, high work ethic, that’s something I strive to be in the NFL.
“I strive to have a career like he’s had. I think being able to learn underneath him… I’m excited to be able to establish that relationship.”
Joe thinks it would be awesome if Egbuka turns out to be Godwin II. Think about it: the way Godwin has been in his career, he was first-round value.
So if Egbuka lives up to his draft status, that’s a good pick.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:20 am
No a good pick would have been taking the #1 zone cover CB at #19 when he fell in our laps like Barron did not drafting a clone of a wr you just resigned for 3 years at $66 million but spin away it’s what you guys do !
April 27th, 2025 at 8:26 am
Bad teams reach. If this guy was clearly the #1 player on their board, you never pass on that. That’s what bad teams do. They reach for a position of immediate need and almost ALWAYS get burned.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:31 am
Think the Bucs really wanted McMillian, but the Dreaded Panthers got him. Should be interesting to see if Egbuka lives up to the hype.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:34 am
You win by scoring points on offense and we got 2 great DBs in day 2. He was a great pick as both Evans and Godwin got hurt last year.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:36 am
I’m excited about this pick and the player. Like many people I would have gone a different way. But after shouting from the mountain tops for the team to draft j Winston I am officially out of the draft pick business. But you can always make the argument of spending a high draft pick on a guy that touches the ball. As far as the Godwin comparison I have not seen the physicality. But you can’t argue with the production and really that’s all that counts.
Joe is trolling again. That’s part of his schtick. Now he if could just find the line between humor and pointless repetition.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:38 am
Morrison could end up being the best corner from this draft. We got a McMillan type drop to 2nd round thanks to his hip surgery… a hip surgery that many NFL players have gotten from what I’ve read. Pretty minor stuff.
He’s a lockdown corner at a level Bucs may never have had before. Seems like every publication out there’s grading us with anything from an A- to a B+. That’s not too shabby when your pic kstarts at 19 and you only have 6.
Egbuka will be a fan favorite in no time.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:42 am
Great pick. You guys typing from your homes about what we should’ve done crack me up. There’s a reason no one is paying you to work for an NFL team, let alone be their GM. Don’t quit your day jobs.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:43 am
We let Campbell slide by because he just had shoulder surgery but draft a CB that has had surgery on both hips AND his shoulder. We desperately needed an infusion of talent on defense and we end up with a #3 WR in RD1 and a bunch of project players. And no answer at ILB.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:49 am
Lockdown corner for the Bucs scares me. They have had supposed lockdown corners before and their scheme dictates everything BUT lockdown corner play. Playing like 10 yards off the WR?
April 27th, 2025 at 8:49 am
Egbuka is only a #3 WR if Evans & Godwin stay healthy. He is huge insurance in a long season.
We had a fantastic draft.
April 27th, 2025 at 8:52 am
To the people complaining, do you remember last year when Evans and Godwin missed the 4 games? Yeah, we were 0-4 and was lacking wide receiver play desperately! This is a great pick. I don’t watch too much college football, but when I saw Ohio State play last year, #2 always stood out.
Go Bucs!
April 27th, 2025 at 8:55 am
Just be the best Emeka you can be. Not eChris Godwin. Write your own story. Being Emeka got you in the NFL. Continue to work hard on your craft and learn from the vets. Still you must walk your path not someone else’s. #godspeed
April 27th, 2025 at 8:58 am
He he plays like puka it’s a no brainer. That guy uncoverable
April 27th, 2025 at 9:48 am
Egbuka and Tez have some of the best separation in the draft class. Reply excited to see what they can do.
April 27th, 2025 at 10:10 am
Watched a lot of OSU and EE was always open, didn’t drop passes and blocked very well at the line to free the backs and down field. Production 3 straight years. Morrison will be fine health wise and could be a steal. Smith moves to safety and Parrish to nickel and sub. Walker and Roberts very good subs, maybe starter? It’s production across the board with these guys not to mention area’s of need because of injuries last year. Dennis is a helluva LB with the addition of Walker from Miami. Not counting the UDFA’s yet. If we can stay relatively healthy this year the D looks like it will be another tough, nasty D that we’ve come to love around here.
April 27th, 2025 at 10:19 am
The Bucs staff found players that were better than the guys the fans had in mind. They just can’t get past it. You want the Bucs to trust their own scouting and just take the guys on their mock drafts. Just like the falcons did.
April 27th, 2025 at 11:00 am
I was initially like others here disappointed in the pic not the player. This was because I felt that we had so many important needs on defense that this was not the year to invest in draft picks on offense especially early.
However the pic of Benjamin Morrison assuming his health is as suggested back to normal with probably a better Corner healthy than Barron would be. Had those two pics been reversed and we took a corner in the first and double E in the second round nobody would have battered an eye.
My perfect draft would have seen us grab as Edge rusher in the first round Corner in the second safety in the third linebacker in the fourth and then use the 5th and 7th picks on high upside type plays at whatever position we felt the best value was.
In the end we got an edge rusher in the 4th that I think could have been a second rounder if you was 2 in taller or if he played at a larger school. He’s production probably was better than the edge rushers that went after Abdul Carter. But from coming from a small school and being only 6’1 instead of 6 ft 2 or 6 ft 3 he was over looked.
I have noticed a pattern with Jason light and the Buccaneers when it comes to drafting. One they want high character guys. They want team leaders captains and guys who absolutely love the game. This is a culture that we developed in this locker room and one that the coaching staff definitely keeps in mind when drafting. This is why guys like Mike Green and James Pierce Jr while they could have been great selections for their production and their talent probably were not high on our board. All that to say in a draft like this past year the level of talent across rounds was not that disparate especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The other characteristic of their draft picks are performances at things like the senior bowl. Especially when they go for guys who did not play at well-known large programs like Alabama Ohio State Florida State…
The Senior bowl is almost like their confirmation that this small school player who looked dominant was in fact really talented and not just over matching lesser talent.
We did this for Cody Mauch, Ali Marpet, Winfield,Goedeke,Diaby.
I think Walker has the potential to be a real beast. And if Braswell really does show development from year one to year two we could have a very good Edge rusher group for years to come.
April 27th, 2025 at 11:18 am
Oh and while I’m a little disappointed we didn’t manage to draft dolac from university of Buffalo as I think he would be a great linebacker to learn from David,
And that the Rams beat us to get him in undrafted free agency the same way they beat us getting Chris Paul.
We picked up one player from the university of Colorado in Will Johnson who is about 6 ft 3 and more than 205 lb. I watched a bit of his tape and came off very impressed. He ran a lot of receiver screens and a lot of other plays similar to what Mike Evans runs. I think he has a chance to stick with the 53-man roster and would amazing to learn from a player like Mike Evans because I think if he could just clean up a little bit of his route running he could actually be a steal.
April 27th, 2025 at 12:01 pm
In watching his intro press conference, kid seems to have his head screwed on straight. Hope he is what they say he is. I think the plan is to give Godwin less reps to save him for the entire season.
April 27th, 2025 at 12:13 pm
Canabuc – I’m with you on Dolac. Was also hoping for a Thor Griffith UDFA. Maybe they can be picked up off waivers/practice squad over the summer.
April 27th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
Egbuka is a fantastic pick, it reflects on jason Licht, just how far he has come. He confidently picks the best player available despite knowing it is not a position of need. He knows quality now and confidently chooses that instead of trading back. It was a very good draft, highlighted with this 1st pick. We are contenders. Hope Kyle Trask is not a weakness if we need him.