The Emeka Egbuka Mystery
June 11th, 2026
“Blame ‘Grizz?'”
Look, Joe loves Emeka Egbuka. Thinks he will be a damn fine receiver in the NFL.
But why did Egbuka go MIA in the second half of the season? A pair of local sports radio hosts seem to think you can blame one man.
And no, it’s not Baker Mayfield.
Pat Donovan and Aaron Jacobson, co-hosts of “The Pat and Aaron Show” heard weekday mornings on WDAE-AM 620/WDAE-FM 95.7, seem to think last year’s rookie offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was likely to blame for Egbuka’s vanishing and the Bucs offense going into the toilet after the bye.
Joe leans that way too. However, Joe wants to see how Egbuka bounces back.
Perhaps defenses last year figured out Grizzard and that explains why the offense went into the tank? Donovan suggested if an offense gets healthier and still gets worse, as the Bucs offense did late in the season, that’s on the coordinator.
The hesitation Joe has with calling out Grizzard is that Egbuka started out like a house on fire. If Grizzard was that bad, Egbuka wouldn’t have come roaring out of the gate.
Again, maybe defenses adjusted and Grizzard didn’t have a counterpunch?
ESPN’s Ben Solak believed Egbuka was damaged goods after he suffered a hamstring injury and never fully recovered. Joe’s not going to hammer a rookie as the rookie wall is real.
Joe also cannot rule out Mayfield being a factor. He was not the same guy who before the bye looked like an All-Pro quarterback. And that’s exactly why the Joe typing this here post is in no hurry to extend Mayfield. What’s wrong with seeing how he plays this year first?
And yes, Joe knows the Bucs already offered Mayfield a contract. Once again, Joe’s last name is not “Glazer.”
@957wdae Mike Evans is gone from TB and someone is gonna have to fill the void… could it be Emeka Egbuka? ? ? Who do you think will be Bakers WR1?! @PatandAaron @Aaron Jacobson @PatDonovanRadio ♬ original sound – 957wdae
June 11th, 2026 at 4:06 am
I think it’s more likely that all of those factors, rookie wall, DC’s figuring out Griss’s offense, the hamstring injury and Mayfield’s declining play, played a part in EE’s inferior offense performances in the second half of the season. And I agree with you that Mayfield’s performance should be evaluated after the season. If he loves living in Tampa as much as he says, he will accept a contract after the season.
I also think that if given a chance, Jaylon Daniels will eventually win the quarterback job.
June 11th, 2026 at 6:15 am
It has become obvious that that Grizz had no idea what he was doing last year. All bets are off. This year we have a real Offensive coordinator and what should be a vastly improved defense. Definitely reasons to be excited once we get Baker resigned for the long term . Go Bucs!
June 11th, 2026 at 6:55 am
I think this gets mentioned too often. You said all the reasons that may have contributed to his falloff. Im pretty sure he’ll be fine.
June 11th, 2026 at 6:56 am
Before Grizz got the job everyone at OBP touted how great and upcoming he was and one year later turns out he was completely clueless. So no one in the organization saw that coming? Not the HC or GM? Interesting.
EE should be fine but I dont know he’s a number one guy. We’ll see. Hard to evaluate a WR when the QB is inaccurate.
June 11th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Injuries were a bigger problem than the play calling. That should have been obvious and I’m not sure why it’s still being debated. Regarding EE, I think he had an injury of some sort, maybe not that bad, but it slowed him and sapped some of his confidence. A bit of a guess. Also, Baker being hurt, although we don’t know specifically what it was it affected his throwing a bit, also had an impact.
June 11th, 2026 at 7:32 am
When a guy goes from tearing up the league to looking lost, it’s usually not just ONE thing. Such was the case with EE. Rookie wall, his own injuries, the QBs play, the oline play, the OC..the answer with all the above.
June 11th, 2026 at 7:51 am
And that’s exactly why the Joe typing this here post is in no hurry to extend Mayfield. What’s wrong with seeing how he plays this year first?
BINGO!!!!
YES, the entire team was injured….offense and defense…im tired of beating that drum lol
GO BUCS!!!!
June 11th, 2026 at 8:21 am
The whole Baker thing, first it’s not my money so the Glazers can do as they please. But if people don’t like the thought of 52-55 million now, make him prove it this year and then sign him, it’s no longer 52-55 million this time next year.
If you think he will have deserved a contract 10 months from now just wait until you put the tag on him and then try negotiations
June 11th, 2026 at 8:25 am
I understand it’s the off season and we need to talk about something but can we let this one go already? Injuries, it was Injuries and maybe a little Grizzzard play calling.
June 11th, 2026 at 8:35 am
Hes a fine no 2 receiver
Can’t win a one on one
Paying Chris too was a mistake. We didnt draft the needed lb and needed an ol too last yr Season crashed. Evans left shaking his head. And we still dont have a no 1 receiver
Griz being blamed makes no sense
Time may eventually work out for Morrison and Parrish is good so Jason gets a little time but that collapse last yr was avoidable imo
June 11th, 2026 at 8:46 am
I don’t know what causes a WR to get the dropsies but he caught that too, maybe from Evans. Probably all the above mentioned factors caused the decline. I think he will be fine.
June 11th, 2026 at 8:46 am
“What’s wrong with seeing how he (Baker) plays this year and then offering him a contract?”
i can give you 74 million reasons, or 80 million reasons.
Next year we project to have 40 million cap space. Bakers current contract if it plays out would create a dead cap of 30 million. the team cant franchise tag or transition tag baker with that hit since it would cost 74 or 80 million which is more than 40 and good luck finding a stud qb for 10 million as we lose 30 million to let baker walk away to another team.
June 11th, 2026 at 9:28 am
Grizz was awful…terribly overmatched. Baker singlehandedly will us to opening wins against Falcons, Houston, and Seattle.
June 11th, 2026 at 9:42 am
Bakers deal getting done before training camp with EE and O line healthy all year is the recipe for success. Throw in the experienced OC, getting Hurst involved early, and any kind of improvement on defense. Playoffs? Playoffs??!!!! Yes Mr Mora. Playoffs
June 11th, 2026 at 10:21 am
Mystery?
League average completion % is 64%
We finished with a below average completion % at 62.9%
Egbuka was also targeted like a #1 partially because Mike was out
He only dropped 9 passes, for perspective opposing defenders dropped 20 passes and as a team our guys only dropped 19
We threw the ball 558 times and completed 351
Average depth of target
Average yards per completion
All went downhill during and after the Detroit game.
June 11th, 2026 at 10:30 am
Egbuka got the dropsies and lost confidence in the 2nd half of the season.
June 11th, 2026 at 10:41 am
Starting with the New England game both guards were out. That creates a huge pass rush up the middle. Couple that with EE’s hamstring injury and trying to play X receiver when Evans was out and you have a recipe for failure. We’ve already seen EE’s top speed went way down midway through the season when his hamstring got hurt and never recovered.
That’s why he could no longer get separation.
I am not worried about Egbuka at all. He’s primed for a great season!
June 11th, 2026 at 10:44 am
Every player regressed. Offense defense and special teams. They all got worse.
The KitKat Lover is the master Regressor.
June 11th, 2026 at 11:56 am
The Bucs reached for a WR when they needed an ILB and had one in front of them who they let slide to the Eagles.
Egbuka is great against the zone, but man coverage is his kryptonite, and teams figured that out. So, he needed an OC who could scheme him open against man coverage, and he mostly didn’t have it.
June 11th, 2026 at 1:23 pm
“So, he needed an OC who could scheme him open against man coverage, and he mostly didn’t have it.“
Overblown aspect of the game.
You can attempt to scheme someone open, still got to drop back, make the throw and have the timing in-phase to complete the pass
It’s not a matter of design, it’s functionality & execution which are the issues. Also, most DCs will play WR corps they don’t fear with man coverage or talent rookie WRs to force them to beat them individually which is a talent in and of itself.
Amazing how ya’ll talk about the WR, sidestep the QBs just to put the onus on the OC as if making a call ensures success when it’s just a portion of what it takes to get a rep off irregardless of the outcome of the particular play.
There’s levels to all this, it is the sport with the most moving parts outside of say NASCAR and F1, but in the case of football the machines are the people.
June 11th, 2026 at 2:16 pm
But why did Egbuka go MIA in the second half of the season? A pair of local sports radio hosts seem to think you can blame one man.
And no, it’s not Baker Mayfield.
————
The ALL22 says otherwise.
Perfect example, which doesn’t even require ALL22, opening drive vs the Rams. e2 is wide open for a TD, and Baker misses the throw by 30 yards. With few exceptions, that was literally happening every week with Baker once he started telling everyone how great he was after fans changed week 6 MVP.
e2 is a very good WR, and will be very good, and Baker cost him winning the offensive rookie of the year.
June 11th, 2026 at 3:17 pm
No mystery at all.
June 11th, 2026 at 4:03 pm
He came back 1 week too early. And lost a step.
He’s an insanely hard working guy.
NFL careers are truly decided in the off-season.
There are two types of players. Players who party too much and take it too easy in the off-season.
And players who use the offseason to evolve.
Remember Tyler Johnson?
He was amazing his rookie year. Won a Super Bowl. But came back fat, slow and out of shape.
He’s the perfect example of an NFL idiot.
À guy can make or break his NFL career in his FIRST offseason.
Emeka looks faster and stronger. He evolved during his first offseason.
Unlike Tyler Johnson.
June 11th, 2026 at 4:56 pm
Teacherman Says:
June 11th, 2026 at 4:03 pm
He came back 1 week too early. And lost a step.
———
I did not see that on tape.
Yes, he had a couple too many drops, but he was open all the time (as was Evans, Godwin, Tez, and McMillan when he got back) but Baker was just super inaccurate. Also when Baker is throwing for 122 yards, and 145 yards, it’s hard for anyone to really shine.
If the issue was Baker was injured, and he’s healthy and returns to form, then everyone will look better.
June 11th, 2026 at 6:04 pm
Liked your take Teacherman. So true.