September 25, 2025
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) receives a pass against the New York Jets in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium.
Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans, who has four touchdown catches in five career games against the Eagles, won't play Sunday in Tampa because of a hamstring injury. Chris Godwin will play his first game this season coming back from a serious ankle injury.
The Bucs are underhanded at wide receiver, but the Eagles will surely have the red circle drawn around their rookie phenom Emeka Egbuka. Wisely, the Bucs drafted Egbuka in the first round, knowing that Evans turned 32 in August and that Godwin has dealt with several injuries throughout his career.
So far, their investment has paid off. Egbuka already has three touchdown catches and leads Bucs WRs in receptions (14) and receiving yards (181). He has played 83 percent of the snaps, and with Evans down and Godwin making his season debut, Egbuka might have to play the whole game Sunday.
Like most receivers who come from Ohio State, Egbuka showed that he was pro-ready from the start, and it's obvious how much Baker Mayfield already trusts him.
That TD catch came in Egbuka's debut. Mayfield put a perfect ball between the corner and safety on a deep over, and Egbuka saw the ball in and finished off the 30-yard touchdown.
Evans is the "X" receiver in Tampa Bay's offense, and Egbuka has usually lined up at the "Z" spot, where he can move around and doesn't typically see press coverage. He's got good hands, with just 2 drops this year on 21 attempts, and Mayfield's passer rating when targeting Egbuka is 133.1.
The Bucs often align him in bunch and trips formations to get him isolated in space.
That was his second TD catch in the opener at Atlanta, from a trips formation on the right side. The two inside routes clear the nickel and safety, leaving Egbuka isolated on the outside corner –an Arrow concept that he wins to the inside for what would be the game-winning TD.
On this catch, he lined up in a reduced split on the left side against zone coverage that isolated him against the deep safety because Evans, who lined up like a tight end, ran a quick out that drew the outside corner. It's a Smash concept, and Egbuka beat the safety on his corner route for an easy catch.
The Rams used a similar tactic to get Davante Adams freed up against Reed Blankenship. You might remember this:
If Evans was playing against the Eagles (he isn't), he would probably be seeing a heavy dose of Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell, who has been used to shadowing the opponent's best receiver.
Mitchell shadowed Cowboys WR George Pickens in Week 1 and Adams last Sunday. It'll be interesting to see if Mitchell shadows Egbuka, and if the Bucs try to move Egbuka around to make shadowing difficult.
Last week, Egbuka went up against Jets CB Sauce Gardner, a two-time All-Pro. He finished with 6 catches for a career-best 85 yards. Not all of it came against Gardner, but this one did.
Egbuka fought off the press coverage and didn't really get a step on Gardner, but made a terrific one-handed grab on a well-placed ball from Mayfield.
Whoever draws Egbuka on Sunday, it should be a good battle.
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