Bucs first-rounder Emeka Egbuka praises support from rest of WR room

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went against their needs by drafting a wide receiver in the first round. And with such a stacked room, there are a lot of great wideouts he can learn from.

Emeka Egbuka was a great wide receiver at Ohio State and was plenty polished coming into the league, but there's still a lot to learn for the rookie. Thankfully for him, he's got players like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Sterling Shepard to learn from, and he recently spoke on just how much those veterans do for him in a new interview.

Egbuka spoke with NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Sam Wyche after OTAs on Tuesday, and he made sure to mention just how much he's learning from Tampa Bay's wide receivers room. He mentioned Shepard first, explaining how watching film with him helps him recognize and study his route running.

"I think every time I come back from running a route, if I a ran a good route or I didn't run a so-good route, Sterling [Shepard] is one of the first ones to be able to tell me and we'll watch it together on film post practice — we're always studying the game," Egbuka said.

Shepard has played in the NFL for eight years and is heading into his ninth, so he's sure to have a lot of insight about the league and how to navigate it.

That knowledge works well in tandem with Evans and Godwin's expertise. Both of them have played in Tampa Bay for years, and their familiarity with the culture and team environment is also a big help to Egbuka both on and off the field.

"And then Mike and Chris, they're guys I can just pick their brain about anything, football or not football," Egbuka said. "They're always here to be able to help me, so that's something I've really learned since the second I got here in Tampa. They're really supportive."

Egbuka is primed to get some playtime at wide receiver this season, and he'll likely be battling Jalen McMillan for the team's WR3 spot. Regardless of how much he ends up playing, Egbuka will be able to learn from some of the best wideouts in the league and the Bucs are looking forward to seeing him hit the ground running as the season draws nearer.

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