Emeka Egbuka
American football player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Egbuka after National Championship game with Ohio State Buckeyes in 2025 | |||||||||
| No. 2 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | October 14, 2002 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Steilacoom (Steilacoom, Washington) | ||||||||
| College | Ohio State (2021–2024) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2025: 1st round, 19th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
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Early life
Egbuka was born in Tacoma, Washington and grew up in Steilacoom, Washington.[1][2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7][8] Egbuka was rated a five-star recruit and committed to play college football at Ohio State.[9]
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.[10] He played in 11 games as a freshman and caught nine passes for 191 yards.[11] He also returned 20 kickoffs for 580 yards and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.[12][13] 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.[14]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+7⁄8 in (1.85 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | 31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) | 4.45 s | 1.50 s | 2.57 s | 4.12 s | 38 in (0.97 m) | |||
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[15][16][17] | ||||||||||||
Egbuka was selected in the first round with the 19th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2025 NFL draft.[18] 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.[19]
On October 2, 2025, Egbuka was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month for September.[20] 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."[21] He finished the 2025 season with 63 receptions for 938 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.[22]
Career statistics
NFL
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
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[23] | 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.[2] Egbuka is of Igbo Nigerian descent through his father.[24] He got engaged to soccer player Laney Egbuka (née Matriano) in January 2026.[25] The couple married on July 3, 2026.[26]
