If you weren’t totally sure exactly how bad things went for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second half of the season, the list the NFL put out of the 6 finalists for NFL Rookie of the Year should let you know.
Missing among those names was Buccaneers rookie wide receiver and 2025 first round pick Emeka Egbuka, who was the betting favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with 6 weeks left in the regular season.
Egbuka led the Buccaneers with 63 receptions for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns wile playing in all 17 games.
Only one wide receiver, Carolina Panthers first round pick Tetairoa McMillan, made the list, along with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty and Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
“After Week 11, Emeka Egbuka was the -120 betting favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year,” Covers wrote on its official X account on Tuesday, January 13. “After voting, he won’t even be a finalist for the award.”
It’s another disappointment in a season of disappointments for the Buccaneers, who went 8-9 and missed the NFC Playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Egbuka’s Decline Needs To Be ‘Studied’
When Egbuka, the No. 19 overall pick, caught 6 passes for 113 yards and 1 touchdown in a Week 10 loss to the Patriots, he was third in the NFL with 40 receptions for 677 yards and 6 touchdowns — he wouldn’t have another 100-yard receiving game or score another touchdown the rest of the season.
McMillan didn’t overtake Egbuka for the rookie receiving lead until the 2 teams faced each other in the Week 18 regular season finale — a game in which he had 4 receptions for 85 yards to finish the season with 70 receptions for 1,014 and 7 touchdowns.
Egbuka had 1 reception for 8 yards in Week 18 for his worst statistical game of the year.
“Honest to God, what the hell happened with Emeka Egbuka?” Dynasty FF Wolf wrote on X. “This falloff needs to be studied in universities across the nation.”
“Name me another player who started off on fire then fell off a cliff as hard as Emeka Egbuka,” The Fantasy Football Dad wrote on X.
“I’ll never forget you, Weeks 1-5 Emeka Egbuka,” Sleeper NFL wrote on X.
“Emeka Egbuka: a tale of two halves,” Fantasy Football analyst Joshua Cho wrote on X. “The rookie came out HOT, scoring 5 TDs in his first 5 games as a NFL WR. After that, though the tgts stayed promising, there was a pretty big drop off in production with Egbuka (just 1 more TD). I still trust the talent.”
Bucs Will Get Fresh Start on Offense in 2026
The Buccaneers dealt with injuries at every level on offense in 2025, and even when they all came together at the end of the season the magic wasn’t there like it would have been after a full season together.
While offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard ultimately took the blame and was fired after one season, almost the entire starting offense should be back in 2026 and will have a new offensive coordinator leading the way.
It will be Tampa Bay’s fifth offensive coordinator in 5 seasons.
“Not a single soul should have any doubts about Emeka Egbuka,” Bucs Wire’s EMT Ashlie wrote on X. “The potential is there. We’ve seen what he can do when he actually gets the ball.”
Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka Gets Bad News From NFL