Tampa Bay Buccaneers Player Rankings: Emeka Egbuka Breakout Season Incoming Plus More

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter 2025 loaded with fantasy football intrigue, from rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka’s breakout potential to Baker Mayfield’s QB1 upside and Bucky Irving’s RB1 workload. With Chris Godwin’s injury opening the door for Egbuka and a strong supporting cast around Mayfield, Tampa’s offense could be one of the most fantasy-friendly in the league.

Breakout Player

Emeka Egbuka, Wide Receiver

Egbuka brings an inside wide receiver skill set while offering more rhythm than his overall quickness in his breaks and route running. He projects as a chain mover with a good feel for the ball in traffic. Press coverage will challenge his release in the NFL.

Ohio State’s edge in offensive personnel in many matchups allowed Egbuka to find easy open areas at the second level of a defense. He showed good hands with a natural feel for spacing when given daylight on a play. His opportunity in the deep passing game will be minimal. Egbuka projects to be a league runner in the 40-yard dash (about 4.5 seconds).

Based on the summer reports out of Tampa and Egbuka’s highlights, I’m more bullish about him than I was initially after my first run through the Buccaneers’ team outlook. Chris Godwin is trailing in his recovery, suggesting multiple missed games to open the year, creating a starting window for Tampa’s new rookie wideout. I tend to gravitate toward young wide receivers that run good routes, and Baker Mayfield gave Egbuka a glowing endorsement early this summer.

In mid-August, the high-stakes fantasy market ranks Egbuka as the 32nd wide receiver, 20 draft slots higher than Godwin. I have him rated lower in my latest projections, leaving him about 20 catches for 200 yards and three scores away from his current price. His projections will rise over the next couple of weeks, but he still needs a wide receiver injury to reach WR2 status in fantasy leagues. His talent screams breakout upside while waiting for an improved opportunity.

Egbuka is currently the WR48 in our 2025 PPR Rankings.

Value

Baker Mayfield, Quarterback

The growth of Mayfield was defined by the Bucs having seven viable receiving options who had a floor of 30 catches. He achieved a high level of success despite missing his top two wide receivers for 13 games, allowing Jalen McMillan to develop. Tampa featured their backs, tight ends, and wide receivers, and they added another talented receiving option (Emeka Egbuka) in this year's draft.

Mayfield was the third-best quarterback (428.80 fantasy points) in four-point passing touchdown formats. The most significant risk to his repeatability this year is that the Bucs have more success in close rushing for touchdowns. Despite his direction, he remains the seventh-ranked quarterback in mid-August. I have Mayfield projected to gain 4,512 combined yards, with 34 touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka looks poised to fill the injury gap of Chris Godwin.

Tampa has an excellent offensive structure this year, and they should build off of last year's success with a potential deep playoff run.

Mayfield is currently the QB7 in our 2025 Rankings.

More Room For Growth

Bucky Irving, Running Back

When reviewing some of Irving’s highlights, he gives me the impression of a player who thrives in trash. What I mean by this is that Irving has an uncanny ability to find something out of a dead in a water play. He runs with eyes up, with the goal of making defenders miss or punch them in the face at the finish line. When at the second level of a defense in space, Irving has a feel for getting tacklers flat-footed, similar to the great Shaun Alexander. His lack of long speed limits his paydays when hitting a wide-open hole.

Tampa gave Irving RB2 snaps in 11 of his 18 games, while seizing the Bucs’ lead running back role over their final four games. He finished with 254 touches, leading to 1,514 combined yards with eight touchdowns and 47 catches. Irving gained more than 20 yards on 11 plays, with four reaching the 40-yard mark.

He gained over 100 rushing yards in three contests (25/152/1, 15/117, and 20/113), all coming over the final six weeks. He left Week 14 after 16 plays with a back injury. From Week 12 to Week 19 (minus his early exit), the Buccaneers gave him 21 touches a game, leading to 141.90 fantasy points (20.27 FPPG).

In the August draft season, progression in touches is expected based on his running back ranking (9th). The Bucs will continue to rotate in a second back, but Irving is their clear top option on opening day. I expect some pullback in his big plays, and Tampa won’t run him into the ground due to his size.

Irving is currently the RB11 in our 2025 PPR Rankings.

Read the full 2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Preview.