Slot receivers are now a staple of NFL offenses. In a pass-heavy, space-based league with teams heavily working out of 11 personnel (three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back), a transformation occurred on how teams were built. The "tweener" was forged, a player that was too undersized to be a tight end but who had the short-area quickness to excel over the middle of the field on routes. This player, the slot receiver, adds deception to the offense and serves as a bridge between the run and pass. Run concepts typically reserved for multiple tight ends sets or those with a fullback, could now operate out of 11 with a blocking-savvy slot. This chess piece has doubled the possibilities out of 11 personnel, making it harder for teams to defend. The multiplicity out of a single play requires mental fortitude in slot weapons.

There are much more route options and space on the field for slot receivers, but with that comes more checks each play. The hybrids have to sit and read the coverage, not open too early or too late, sit in windows for the quarterback as voids become available and work off a free release or a linebacker crashing down. They have to understand the leverage of who the defensive back is and what the coverage is in order to have success and exploit. Then, the slot receiver has to be on the same page as the quarterback in terms of timing. Slots do the dirty work in the trenches on a stalk block, then flex out wide and uncover. They, the unsung heroes of the modern-day offense, are three positions rolled into one: tight end, receiver and running back.

"There is a play that we have that we like to run against traditional man-to-man defense," said Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Wide Receiver Coach Bryan McClendon. "So, if it is man-to-man and we are lined up in the formation, and their guy is playing them on outside shade, then now they have to take an inside release and then they have to lift a little bit more and spin it back out. If the guy is going against an inside technique, then now we are going to pin him. Then the receiver has to go vertical and then it's a speed cutout. If it is zone, then we are going to push up and then stop and then sit. They have to go out there and line up and see what technique he [defensive back] is playing, if it is man or zone and what – is he inside shade or outside shade? Is it two-high? Then we can take the middle of the field. This is just on one play. Then, they have to be right and be on the same page as the quarterback and do it in a timely manner. It is a lot. Those guys do an unbelievable job of grasping all of it and understanding why. They all want to know, 'Why?' You have to be able to explain that it is 'this' because of 'this.' They all like being challenged mentally as much as they do physically."

For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they now have an embarrassment of riches at the slot position with Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and rookie Emeka Egbuka. Each with their own niche and proficiencies, Godwin, McMillan and Egbuka have one thing in common: Mental stamina.

"They are really smart," said McClendon of the trio. "To be able to do all of the things that we ask, you have to be able to think and process really quickly. It is not, 'Hey, on this play we are doing this no matter what.' On one play, it could be four different things that we do and four different ways that you have to do it depending on different techniques. So, to be able to process all of those things, that is a skill in itself. Then after that, to have the girth to then have to go up against some bigger guys right now when you ask them to do that but on the same token, now we are passing and you feel like those guys can split out and they are hard to cover. All of them have that in common. They have the ability to think and maintain it."

Godwin, who is recovering from a dislocated ankle that required surgery, has cemented himself among the league's elite at the slot position. At the time of the injury last October, Godwin led the NFL with 50 receptions and 33 receiving first downs through seven games. Godwin was second in the league with 576 receiving yards and was tied for third with five touchdown receptions. He became Baker Mayfield's go-to target on third downs and is adept at boxing out defenders and working the field on digs, out-breakers and screens. The RAC-artist can extend outside of his frame to haul in catches and has the athleticism to excel off jet sweeps.

Last season, McMillan emerged as the Bucs' number-two guy on the depth chart behind Evans, helping to supplement the production of Godwin while he was sidelined. McMillan brought in five receptions for 74 yards and a receiving touchdown against the Saints in Week 18, marking his fifth straight game with a receiving touchdown in 2024, tied for the second-longest streak by a rookie in NFL history, trailing only Randy Moss (seven games). McMillan's seven touchdowns over his final five games of the regular season were tied for the most by any Buccaneer over a five-game span in club history, joining Mike Evans and Jimmie Giles. He became the second player to record seven-or-more touchdown catches over a five-game span in the 2024 season, joining Ja'Marr Chase. McMillan possesses long-striding speed and has the ability to bait coverage with fakes. The Washington product has outstanding start/stop capability throughout routes and blends explosion with body control. He can force defensive backs to open their hips, then cross to beat them the other way, something he gleaned from the hardwood, watching Kyrie Irving's ball distribution and transitions.

"I study how the defender plays," remarked McMillan. "If he is a defender that over-commits, then I know I do not have to use too many moves. But if it is somebody who is patient like a Patrick Surtain, then it is going to be a contested catch moment because he does not move. He is long, he sits at the line of scrimmage and he plays to his leverage. He is a really good corner but you cannot really juke him off the line. But the majority of corners, they are either soft-shoe or hard-press. It is really attacking half of a man and obviously it comes with the route and timing but it is all that combined. Watching Irving helped me with that. You have to know what they are playing."

The Buccaneers selected Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Egbuka worked primarily out of the slot for the Buckeyes and was comped to Godwin. He is a route-running technician who understands the subtleties of the artform. Egbuka concluded his collegiate tenure with the most receptions in Ohio State history (205) and utilizes pacing and maneuvering at the break point to exploit coverages and the leverage of defenders. He is stout at the catch point and combines superb ball-tracking skills with a feel for voids in off-coverage. The perfectionist has already impressed the Bucs' coaching staff with his absorption of the playbook and inquisitive nature befitting that of an experienced veteran.

With the talented trio, the Bucs' have a bevy of slot threats to weaponize in 2025, keeping defenses off-guard from the second the huddle breaks.