Emeka Egbuka

Emeka Egbuka (;born October 14, 2002) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, finishing as their career receptions leader prior to being selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Early life Egbuka was born in Tacoma, Washington and grew up in Steilacoom, Washington. He began playing football at a young age, and initially wanted to play college football for the Oregon Ducks. His admiration for the program came from their uniforms and his idolization of late Ducks linebacker Fotu Leiato, a fellow Steilacoom native and childhood mentor of Egbuka. He attended Steilacoom High School and was named the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after he caught 83 passes for 1,607 yards and 25 touchdowns and compiled 2,240 all-purpose yards with three punt return touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. Egbuka was also a standout baseball athlete, playing center fielder throughout his youth career. When he was 8 years old, he won the MLB's Pitch, Hit & Run competition for his age group. Egbuka credits baseball as a contributor for his athleticism, and claims it helped him develop into a better wide receiver. Egbuka was rated a five-star recruit and committed to play college football at Ohio State.

College career Egbuka joined the Ohio State Buckeyes as an early enrollee in January 2021, forgoing his senior season at Steilacoom which had been moved to the spring due to COVID-19. He played in 11 games as a freshman and caught nine passes for 191 yards. He also returned 20 kickoffs for 580 yards and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference. As a sophomore in 2022, Egbuka recorded over 1,000 receiving yards. He set the school's career receptions record during his 2024 senior season with 205.

Professional career

Egbuka was selected in the first round with the 19th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2025 NFL draft. In his NFL debut against the Atlanta Falcons, Egbuka had four receptions for 67 yard and two touchdown catches, one of them being the game-winning score.

On October 2, 2025, Egbuka was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month for September. The following Sunday, a clip from the NFL on Fox postgame show went viral in which Rob Gronkowski mispronounced Egbuka's name, calling him "Emeka Egbegboo." He finished the 2025 season with 63 receptions for 938 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.

Career statistics NFL Legend Bold Career high

Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles 2025 TB 17 13 63 938 14.9 77 6 2 9 4.5 9 0 0 0Career 17 13 63 938 14.9 77 6 2 9 4.5 9 0 0 0

College + Year Team GP Receiving Rushing Kick returns Punt returns Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD 2021 Ohio State 11 9 191 21.2 0 — — — — 20 580 29.0 0 — — — — 2022 Ohio State 13 74 1,151 15.6 10 11 87 7.9 2 1 25 25.0 0 11 75 6.8 0 2023 Ohio State 10 41 515 12.6 4 5 25 5.0 0 — — — — 7 23 3.3 0 2024 Ohio State 16 81 1,011 12.5 10 8 33 4.1 0 1 16 16.0 0 1 -1 -1.0 0 Career 49 205 2,868 14.0 24 24 145 6.0 2 22 621 28.2 0 19 97 5.1 0

Personal life Egbuka's grandfather Ron Frederick was elected mayor of DuPont, Washington, in 2020. He got engaged to soccer player Laney Egbuka in January 2026. The couple married on July 3, 2026.