The National Football League today announced that Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka was named Offensive Rookie of the Month for September. He becomes the first Tampa Bay wide receiver to earn Rookie of the Month honors in franchise history and is the first offensive player to do so since 2015. The Buccaneers have earned five Defensive Rookie of the Month awards during that same span.
Egbuka was crucial to the Buccaneers 3-1 start to the season, taking over as the team's leading receiver during a month in which the Buccaneers top three returning receivers all missed time. He finished the month of September with 18 receptions for 282 yards (15.7 avg.) and four touchdowns, including a game-winning score with 59 seconds remaining the team's Week 1 win over the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. He became just the second player since the 1970 merger to record a game-winning touchdown reception in the final minute of regulation in his first career game (Ernest Wilford, 2004).
The Ohio State product led all rookies in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and yards per reception in September, while tying for the rookie lead in total touchdowns scored (four). Among rookie wide receivers, he ranked first in yards from scrimmage (291) and yards after catch (115), while tying for the most receptions (18) and ranking second in receiving first downs (11).
His consistent production was on display in Weeks 1-4 as Egbuka was the only rookie in the NFL to score a touchdown in three of the first four weeks of the season. In addition, he was 1-of-4 NFC wide receivers, and the only rookie, with 75-plus yards from scrimmage in three-or-more games last month alongside Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Per NextGen Stats, Egbuka led all rookies, and ranked second behind only Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown, in passer rating when targeted (128.0) among all players with 25-or-more targets this season, while also leading his class in receiving EPA (11.2).
Since 2000, Egbuka is 1-of-4 players with 15-plus receptions, 250-plus receiving yards and four-plus touchdown receptions through four career games joining Ja'Marr Chase (2021), Calvin Ridley (2018) and Roy Williams (2004) – all of whom also won their season's September Offensive Rookie of the Month award.
Following Egbuka's historic month, the No. 19 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft by General Manager Jason Licht, now owns the franchise records for both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns through four career games. In Week 5, Egbuka will play nearby to his hometown of Tacoma, Washington, as Tampa Bay travels to face the Seattle Seahawks.
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