TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Emeka Egbuka caught a deep ball that sailed through two defenders and raced toward the end zone before slowing down at the 1, turning around and walking backward to complete a 77-yard touchdown catch.
The rookie wide receiver had an impressive first month with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Egbuka has 18 receptions for 282 yards and four touchdowns. He leads all rookies in yards and TDs.
With Mike Evans sidelined by a hamstring injury,
the Buccaneers (3-1) are counting on Egbuka even more. His long TD catch sparked a rally against the Eagles last week that fell short.
The Buccaneers had other needs when it was their turn to pick 19th in the first round of the NFL draft. But they couldn’t pass up Egbuka, who had a stellar career at Ohio State.
He’s lived up to expectations.
“There (have) been a lot of adjustments it has taken to go from college to the NFL,” Egbuka said Wednesday. “There is not specifically one I can point at. Just taking the steps to be able to learn from my mistakes and grow each and every week. It is a very long season (and I have) to be able to not stay the same week in and week out, (have) to continue to grow.”
The Buccaneers got Chris Godwin back last week for the first time since last October. They have more depth at the position with veteran Sterling Shepard and rookie Tez Johnson. When Evans and Jalen McMillan come back, it’ll give Baker Mayfield even more options.
Egbuka is already drawing coverage from top cornerbacks.
“Well, he’s going to attract the attention and he attracted Quinyon Mitchell, who’s a very good corner in his own right,” coach Todd Bowles said. “So, it was a good battle that way. But with Chris coming back, and Shep making plays, and with Tez coming on, we expect those guys to step up and make more plays too, to take some of the attention off him.”
Egbuka impressed teammates right from the start upon arriving in Tampa Bay. Evans praised his route-running ability and maturity. Egbuka even corrected one of Mayfield’s play calls in his first week.
Egbuka is soaking in as much knowledge as possible from the playmakers around him.
“It was amazing,” he said about playing his first game with Godwin. “He is just so cerebral. I feel like there is a lot of similarities people draw between the two of us, so for me to be able to have someone who is like-minded across from me at the ball and just kind of go back and forth on the coverages we are seeing, the plays that we are running, how we can get the best, most opportune-look, we just feed off of each other. His energy is infectious, he is a competitor to the max, and having someone like that back in your room and on the field with you is just so huge for the offense as a whole.”
The Buccaneers visit the Seattle Seahawks (3-1) on Sunday in a homecoming game for Egbuka. He grew up about an hour south of Seattle.
There will be plenty of family and friends at the game. Egbuka is focused on the defense he’s going against. The Seahawks have excellent cornerbacks in Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen.
“All 11 people on their defense play extremely hard. They play with a lot of energy, a lot of fire, they are all flying around to the ball, so playing a group with a lot of energy like that always makes it interesting for us and we (have) to be able to have them match our energy,” Egbuka said. “We want to come out just as energetic as they are. Obviously, they cover very well, they have a ton of great athletes there in their secondary. ... There is not really a weak link on their defense.”
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