Todd Bowles: Critical Offseason For Emeka Egbuka
April 6th, 2026
What a season rookie Emeka Egbuka had last year with 63 catches for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns. He nearly matched the stunning Bucs rookie campaign of the late Mike Williams in 2010.
Williams had 65 catches for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns.
However, Williams was the Bucs’ No. 1 receiver from Day 1 of that stellar season that saw the Bucs shock the NFL and go 10-6 after winning three games in 2009. Williams also finished strong while Egbuka did not.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles talked about Egbuka at the NFC Coaches Breakfast last Monday in Phoenix, where Joe inhaled copious quantities of fruit and scrambled eggs.
“Egbuka having a good offseason, you know his first offseason understanding how the game is played and how long the season is, will help him as well,” Bowles noted.
Nobody at One Buc Palace hides that Egbuka dealt with the dreaded rookie wall. Heck, even Egbuka talked about fighting the grind during his Super Bowl tour.
A year with eager mentors Mike Evans and Chris Godwin should have helped Egbuka learn the game at an elite level, Bowles added. “Mentally, those guys are about as sharp as they come,” he said.
Key will be for Egbuka to build on all his rookie lessons, along with other young players.
“You can’t replace the production Mike [Evans] had on the field, what he did in the community off the field, what Lavonte [David] did on and off the field – the leadership and the presence they’ve shown in the locker room. But they’ve taught these guys how to be professional,” Bowles said.
“They’ve taught these guys how to approach ballgames, and they taught these guys what a pro looks like. So, if guys are taking and grasping that and then growing [on] their own, then I think we’ll get better from that standpoint.”
In many ways, 2026 will be a new era of Bucs football.
Yes, Joe knows the head coach remains, but so much has changed when it comes to the coaching staff and core leadership, along with a load of new faces on defense and special teams.
Perhaps the biggest key to success post-Evans is Egbuka becoming a true No. 1 receiver. Few teams thrive without one.
April 6th, 2026 at 4:04 am
Granted there’s been changes, but don’t believe that will change anything when the same voice, demeanor, and lack of accountability/leadership is running the entire show.
April 6th, 2026 at 5:40 am
Along with Godwin and Jmac, he’ll be fine.
April 6th, 2026 at 6:40 am
What exactly has changed with the core leadership? Be specific, what’s changed? The guy making all the final decisions is still here and the guy that touches the ball every offensive play is still here. That remains the same so nothing has really changed since the team wins and loses with their decision making.
April 6th, 2026 at 6:47 am
A good way to train your body for elite quickness and stamina is swimming as fast as you can as often as possible. Another is a cross trainer with some resistance.
April 6th, 2026 at 7:06 am
We’ll see, I’ve no doubts about Egbukas’ talent as an individual, but he can only be as effective as the play that effects his play directly.
Being a “True No.1” sounds good in writing, but being able to not only win consistently, get the ball, and then making something happen takes a lot of other things going right. Not to mention, defenses will also see Egbuka as a number 1 and learning to beat that while staying on time is going to be a new road for the young dude.
April 6th, 2026 at 7:31 am
I think Godwin will be the 1, as he will be healthy and a focus in this type offense like he was under Coen. He was having a phenomenal season before he got hurt.
I also believe JMac will surprise a lot of people. To come back from that neck injury and play so well tells me he has the fire to be great. If Egbuka is better than last year then we have a good receiver group.
April 6th, 2026 at 8:32 am
Even at scholastic level(High School), a head coach is a coordinator. A Head Coach relies on the position coach to correct flaws and teach technique. Without good position coaches, you won’t go far or win many games.
Example is Kevin Carberry as the Offensive line coach. It’s no surprise that our OL is ranked top 5 in the league. Carberry is a big reason why.
We had a pretty much complete turnover of Defensive position coaches this season. Thats the Defensive core. They are younger guys that have more fire.
And if they hold guys accountable, then things will only improve. Day to day teaching and correction is critical.
April 6th, 2026 at 8:42 am
OLDSCHOOL1976. Godwin is our number one-because he’s that good. JMac does have that fire and he is that good. Egbuka will be better than last year and he was good last year. Absolutely agree. We have a good receiver group. And somebody said Z. Robinson is already scheming plays for Tez. Otten and the running backs? We’d have to get struck by lightning to not be able to score more points than last year. Imagine an intact OLine. On paper, this offense has to concern opponents. I’m betting this is the year.
April 6th, 2026 at 9:07 am
DRAFT OL 1ST ROUND AND RUN THE MORE!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
April 6th, 2026 at 9:51 am
Eneka Egbuka is a WR1, no doubt about it
Last season he was open a lot, Baker was misfiring
Go back and look at the films,
If Baker hit him in stride, he’s a 1,200 yards WR easily
April 6th, 2026 at 10:46 am
Baker didn’t have time to drop 3 steps before having defensive line grabbing at him in latter part of the season.
April 6th, 2026 at 10:56 am
Mr Tired Legs 2nd campaign will remind everyone of Michael Clayton’s second year. He sucked.
Tired Legs is the perfect example of embracing the 🤡 Regression Program.
April 6th, 2026 at 11:25 am
The rookie wall? Everyone all of sudden forgets that he was on a team that made a Natl Championship run and played in 15 or 16 games his last season at Oho State?
April 6th, 2026 at 11:45 am
Week 15 against the Falcons,
It’s 2nd and 14, Bucs looking to close the show
Emeka Egbuka running a crossing route, Dee Alford was beaten
Baker threw behind Egbuka, Alford batted the ball down
If Baker hit Egbuka in stride, he’s running for the end zone
It was those type of throws that cause Egbuka production to drop
It wasn’t a rookie wall, it was Mayfield misfires
April 6th, 2026 at 12:03 pm
Agree with Lakeland. Baker was beat up by the end of the season and missed a LOT of makeable throws to Emeka (and everyone else). The O-line was played by practice squad guards and there was no time to throw, the list goes on. The bottom line, it affected this kid’s rookie season numbers. A healthy O-line, a healthy Baker, and a new O-coordinator that knows his stuff, means this kid will get 1k next year.
April 6th, 2026 at 12:09 pm
I love the fact that Egbuka showed a lot of maturity
He never snapped at Baker, or went off like a lot of WRs
April 6th, 2026 at 12:16 pm
jcscycles … ‘We had a pretty much complete turnover of Defensive position coaches this season.’
That’s true, but for the most part they’re the same coaches we had last season (except for 2 new ones: DLine coach Marcus West and Defensive Assistant Todd Bowles Jr. All the rest were on last year’s defensive coaching staff, but in different positions.
April 6th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
Lakeland. Brady threw 3 picks against Green Bay his first year here. In the playoffs! Have you seen Baker throw 3 picks in a game? And the playoffs? Bradinator. Every QB misses lots of throws every season. And both of you trolls. In 2025 Baker Mayfield was in the top 10 in the league in touchdown passes and passing yards. And Lakeland, Egbuka was so mature he didn’t snap at Baker? What receiver has ever snapped at Baker?
April 6th, 2026 at 12:26 pm
Lakeland Says:
April 6th, 2026 at 11:45 am
Week 15 against the Falcons,
It’s 2nd and 14, Bucs looking to close the show
Emeka Egbuka running a crossing route, Dee Alford was beaten
Baker threw behind Egbuka, Alford batted the ball down
If Baker hit Egbuka in stride, he’s running for the end zone
**********************************************************
shhhhhhh!!!!!
the 3rd&28 crowd will hear you and say: 3rd&28!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
April 6th, 2026 at 12:30 pm
LOL!
e2 had a few drops, but that was it, he was great outside of that.
The issue was the horrific play of Baker Mayfield.
When your QB, with the playoffs on the line, is passing for 122 yards and 144 yards, and can’t even make a simple 4 yard pass on 4th down.
Anywho, check the tape. It’s clear where the problem was, and it wasn’t e2.
April 6th, 2026 at 12:31 pm
“Lakeland. Brady threw 3 picks against Green Bay his first year here. In the playoffs! Have you seen Baker throw 3 picks in a game? And the playoffs? Bradinator”
New Orleans 2024 aka the very first Sean Tucker game
People aren’t trolls just because they say things you don’t agree with Kenton.
In fact, whenever someone says something about Baker you(& others) take on the troll roles.
Lakeland is right, and honest. Idk why you needed to mention Tom Brady. Mayfield would be lucky to be 1/7th as successful as Brady was if you’re getting my drift. Certain doesn’t play like Tom and damn sure isn’t as capable from the pocket as Tom
April 6th, 2026 at 12:32 pm
Kenton Smith Says:
April 6th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
Brady threw 3 picks against Green Bay his first year here. In the playoffs! Have you seen Baker throw 3 picks in a game? And the playoffs?
————–
No, but I saw Baker throw 3 INTs with the the playoffs on the line vs a trash team in Miami.
Anywho, if Baker wins 7 Super Bowles, he can have as many 3 INT as he wants. In fact if he wins 1 SB, I’ll give him that deal.
April 6th, 2026 at 12:33 pm
Kenton Smith Says:
April 6th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
Lakeland. Brady threw 3 picks against Green Bay his first year here. In the playoffs! Have you seen Baker throw 3 picks in a game?
Ive seen baker turn the ball over 3times in a game: MIAMI!!!!
baker tossed 2 INTs and he actually fumbled TWICE but he recovered one of them…
so whats your point?
GO BUCS!!!!!!
April 6th, 2026 at 12:50 pm
My point is, top ten in the league in passing yards and touchdowns, and 11 picks, you fools still gonna blame Baker. We had a problem last year. Baker wasn’t the problem. In fact, he was easily our team MVP last season. Wasn’t he our Walter Peyton man of the year candidate,too? Why don’t you knuckleheads try to get a sense of what playing with an offensive line and receiver corps that hasn’t been on the field long enough to develop any timing or continuity means? A rookie OC didn’t help. But don’t worry fellas. We’ve got at least one more year with Baker, so we know our team will be relevant at least one more year.
April 6th, 2026 at 12:53 pm
The touchdown pass that Egbuka allegedly Dropped against the Saints
Look at the film in slow motion, Egbuka ran the perfect route
There wasn’t a Saints defender near him
Baker threw the ball to the outside of Egbuka, he had to do a 180 turn
If the ball is thrown inside, Egbuka walks in for a touchdown
The ball did hit Egbuka hands and he took the blame
But it was a poorly thrown pass
Earlier in that game, a pass went off Egbuka fingertips
A pass that was thrown too far outside
April 6th, 2026 at 12:57 pm
It is what it is
I’m not bias against any player, and l don’t favorite any player.
I see what my God given eyes allow me to see
And Baker was misfiring on all cylinders, on several passes to Egbuka
April 6th, 2026 at 1:04 pm
“My point is, top ten in the league in passing yards and touchdowns, and 11 picks, you fools still gonna blame Baker.”
No this is just your usual, throw out a bunch of random facts to combat a specific point. Then you tried loosely implying because Brady threw 3 picks in GB, that it’s bad and because you couldn’t remember Baker doing so in a Bucs uniform-even though he has done it-to make an even looser comparison. There was no point, you were just trolling.
April 6th, 2026 at 1:20 pm
Dexter Lawrence wants a trade from the Giants. He would be a game changer for the Bucs but Licht won’t buy any players but Bargin Bin guys. Oh well.
April 6th, 2026 at 2:38 pm
Embrace the suck.
April 6th, 2026 at 3:49 pm
I’m getting a lot of Jameis Winston vibes from folks supporting Baker like he is a top 5 to 10 QB. He was not last year. Interceptions matter.
The 2nd half of the year was not good, all of us with eyes saw him missing open guys as well. Sure, a good share of the blame goes on the offensive line.
But when the article is about what EE can do this year — talking about how Baker missed opportunities is fair game.
I hope Baker gets back to a Top 10 QB this year (not in yards or total TDs) but in production that helps the team wins. And if he does, it is also likely because of the elite offensive line pass protection that he had in 2024.
That OL for 6 out of the last 7 years has been elite in protecting the QB — last year was the exception.
April 6th, 2026 at 8:45 pm
WR3
April 6th, 2026 at 9:54 pm
Emeka, needs a new QB, to fulfill His true potential! along with a HC!!! Or He will be looking to leave as well….