Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles praises 'really sharp' rookie after Day 3 of training camp

This Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie is turning heads.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shocked many when they decided to take wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the No. 19-overall pick in the NFL Draft. Now, he's gone through rookie minicamp and OTAs, and he's showing everyone why he just might be worth it.

Egbuka caught his first touchdown of camp during 7v7 red zone work on Thursday, but he particularly shone on Friday. Egbuka's sticky hands and polished route-running skills were on full display, finding the holes in between the defense and contributing in a big way during the team's last two-minute drill.

Head coach Todd Bowles was asked about Egbuka's performance, and he had a lot of praise for the rookie after his performance on Friday.

"Emeka looked really sharp today running routes," Bowles said. "It wasn't even so much the catches, he was crisp in his route running, coming out of breaks. He's really starting to settle down and blend in — he's a really smart guy."

It wasn't just Bowles, though. Baker Mayfield mentioned on Thursday that Egbuka has been able to elevate the entire room with his effort, and he's even drawing some praise from the defensive side of the ball. Bucs safety Tykee Smith said Friday that Egbuka plays a smooth game that could help him rack up some stats in the NFL.

"Real solid receiver, real smooth in what he [does]," Smith said. "That would be the biggest thing. Coming in here and learning the system real fast, I think he can be real productive."

Egbuka could be in for some early playing time, depending on how healthy wideout Chris Godwin is heading into Week 1 this year. Until then, though, he's putting his head down and getting work — and the players and coaches around him seem to be plenty impressed.

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READ MORE: 3 takeaways from Day 3 of Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp

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