Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Emeka Egbuka in first round of 2025 NFL Draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons at Ohio State.

Egbuka tallied a career-high 81 receptions in his senior season for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns. With the standout campaign, he joined Marvin Harrison Jr. as only the second player in program history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

For his efforts, he was named an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection. He was also a team captain on the Buckeyes, guiding them to their first national championship since 2014. Egbuka notched six catches for 64 yards in the win.

Egbuka’s all-conference selection in the 2024 campaign was far from the only accolade he collected during his illustrious collegiate career. He is a two-time All-Big Ten Third-Team selection, one-time All-Big Ten Second-Team member and three-time Academic all-conference honoree. Moreover, His 205 career receptions are the most in school history.

Emeka Egbuka played high school football at Steilacoom (WA), where he was a five-star prospect. He was the No. 15 overall player and No. 1 wide receiver in the 2021 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Egbuka obviously lived up to the hype. In total, he appeared in 51 games as a Buckeyes and made 40 consecutive starts to close his career. He has the second-most career receiving yards in Ohio State history and will likely be a Hall-of-Fame inductee one day.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Emeka Egbuka

Now, Egbuka is hungry to find similar success on football’s biggest stage. Ahead of the draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein provided an in-depth analysis of Egbuka’s game.

“Fluid athlete with good size and quality ball skills who works primarily from the slot,” Zierlein wrote. “Egbuka runs his routes with tempo and pace. He does a nice job of influencing coverage when needed. He lacks the explosiveness to race past the coverage and is a little tight in his hips getting in and out of breaks.

“Egbuka’s baseball background shows up with his laser-focused ball-tracking and ability to make sudden adjustments to bring throws in for a safe landing. He’s not elusive or sudden after the catch but is competitive and can squeeze out additional yardage. Egbuka projects as an early starter at slot for teams running heavy amounts of three-wideout sets.”