When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in this year's draft, the initial question was how the Buccaneers would distribute snaps and targets between him, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan. As the Buccaneers' 2025 season is set to begin this Sunday, that conversation has shifted.
Godwin is not expected to play immediately as he finishes his return from a devastating ankle injury suffered last October, while McMillan is likely out for at least half the season due to a neck injury. Egbuka is firmly in the starting lineup, probably second in line for targets behind Evans, and that preposterous receiver depth the team seemed to have is being tested immediately.
"It was definitely a luxury early on to have all those guys in that room and just for [the young guys] just to learn from whether it was it was Mike, Chris or Shep and just to have that communication from the veteran guys that are in there that have played a lot of ball."
The Bucs prepared for this situation at the start of the season by going deep at receiver on the 53-man roster. Even without Godwin and McMillan the team can turn to Tez Johnson, Ryan Miller, Sterling Shepard and Kameron Johnson to fill out the ranks behind Evans and Egbuka, and to populate three and four-receiver sets. Johnson is a rookie, a seventh-round pick out of Oregon who has been quite impressive on the practice field, but the other three all played for the Buccaneers last year. Kam Johnson missed a good amount of time due to injury by Shepard was on the field for 536 offensive snaps and Miller for 281.
"Yeah, now with J-Mac going down, which is very unfortunate, and Chris not going immediately, that stinks," said Mayfield. "But all those guys had to play last year. If you take a silver lining out of the injuries we had last year, those guys all had to step up and play in big way. Obviously Tez and Mek are new but we trust them and we're looking forward to them making plays for us."
For one midseason stretch last year, the Buccaneers were without Evans, Godwin and McMillan, their top three options, at the same time due to injuries. Those three all missed the game in Kansas City in Week Nine, for instance, but Mayfield still threw for 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and forced the game into overtime with a late scoring pass to Miller.
"[You're] always trying to elevate the guys around you," said Mayfield "It doesn't matter who's in there. They have to believe in themselves to go and get the job done. It's the greatest team sport for a reason – you've got to have all 11 on the same page. How can I make sure that everybody feels good about their job, what we're trying to get accomplished? And just to go do it."
Egbuka has deservedly received a lot of attention nationally for his play in training camp and the preseason, and because he was such a high draft pick. Tez Johnson may be more of a sneaky weapon for the banged-up Bucs, a small (5-10, 165) but very quick and twitchy player who is adept at making tacklers miss and gaining yards after the catch. Mayfield appreciates that but hopes Johnson keeps self-preservation in mind, as well.
"He's shifty," said Mayfield. "It's really, really impressive, but we've told him, 'You can make one miss on the sideline but you'd better get down. You're still the smallest guy in the NFL'"
Further complicating matters for the Bucs' passing game is the fact that All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs will likely not be available on Sunday due to a knee injury. But Mayfield says that part of the solution is for him to be as efficient and quick as possible in his distribution of the football.
"For me – which is always the ongoing progression of playing quarterback over the years – it's how quickly can I get the ball to my playmakers, in space?" he said. "How quickly can they make the plays for us? And just over communicating the looks, the timing of this play, 'Hey, we're going to have to hold onto it a little longer; it's a longer-developing play.' Or, is it a bad look? Can I check to a screen? Can I do this and that just to get the ball out of my hand. For me, it's just about being efficient. The quick game, some of that is an extension of our run game is well, so how quickly can we be efficient with that?"
