Emeka Egbuka says hes grateful to be the Bucs receiver drawing all the double-teams. In his mind, it will only help him develop twice as fast.
For the first-round pick out of Ohio State, its not a burden. Its a blueprint.
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Its been amazing for me to be able to experience and learn all of it my rookie year, Egbuka said. I think its helped me to grow faster than I would have had I not seen that early on. Its been really good for me. … I have welcomed the challenge. I accept it.
On the biggest stage in the National Football League, that is kind of what you want. You want to be able to test yourself against the best of the best and go against the best defensive backs. That is what you want as a competitor.
Last Sunday, Egbuka not only had to deal with a safety playing him over the top, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez traveled with him all over the field as well. Egbuka still responded with six catches for a game-high 115 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown.
Through 10 weeks, Egbuka leads all rookie receivers with 677 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. His five TD receptions of 20 yards or more are most in the NFL.
The plan was for Egbuka to be the Bucs No. 3 receiver behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Even Jalen McMillan may have drawn more targets had he not suffered a neck injury in a preseason game at Pittsburgh.
But with Evans out with a fractured collarbone and Godwin getting closer to returning from a fibula injury, Egbuka was thrust into the role of the No. 1 receiver and the attention that comes with it.
I think he starts to look at not that he wasnt watching some of those top corners earlier in the season, but now knowing that if it was Gonzalez, Hey, this guy is going to travel wherever Im at, and just knowing his tendencies and then knowing, if they do have a double on him, whats the leverage where the window could be opened differently if hes singled up versus (being double-teamed),” offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard said Thursday.
… So, those are the kinds of things that go into it, but he sees that more and more. I thought hes done a good job of keeping the production up even with some of those doubles.
How much production?
Egbuka is not only the Bucs leading receiver, he ranks ninth in the NFL. He is on pace for 1,279 receiving yards, which would break the franchise rookie record of 1,193 that has been held for 21 seasons by Michael Clayton. He needs only six TDs to break the rookie mark of 11 set by Mike Williams in 2010.
What hasnt helped are knee and oblique injuries to quarterback Baker Mayfield and the revolving door of offensive linemen due to injuries. As Egbuka has drawn more attention, the downfield throws have become fewer for Mayfield.
I dont think (Mayfields injuries) affects his throwing, Grizzard said. Obviously, the linemen getting shuffled around and receivers getting shuffled in and out kind of hurts a lot of things we want to do. Obviously, as good as Emeka is, they start paying more attention to him and you start breaking things down.
Weve just got to find different ways to get big plays down the field. So, weve just got to continue to work at it and make sure the guys are playing and doing what theyre supposed to do to make them effective in the ballgame.
The forecast for Sundays game against the Bills in Buffalo calls for rain and temperatures in the 40s. Thats in the wheelhouse for Egbuka, who grew up in the Seattle-Tacoma area and thrived at Ohio State.
If it is raining, they have wet-weather gloves and stuff like that, he said. If it is colder, slap on some Vaseline, youll be all right.
Maybe hell be slippery enough to beat some double-teams.
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