Emeka Egbuka’s rookie year gave Tampa Bay plenty to like, but the Buccaneers may be setting him up for even more in 2026 by changing how they use him.
The big shift comes with Zac Robinson’s offense, where Egbuka is expected to move into the “Z” role. That matters because it should put him in the kinds of routes and alignments that play to what he does best: create separation, work in space, and turn catches into extra yardage.
Egbuka finished his first NFL season with 63 catches for 938 yards and six touchdowns, a strong debut that had him in the mix for Offensive Rookie of the Year early on. But the momentum slowed after a nagging hamstring injury and Baker Mayfield dealing with multiple injuries of his own. Through six games, Egbuka was averaging 17.3 yards per catch and 78.1 receiving yards per game, with five touchdowns, before getting hurt in a Week 6, 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
According to Matt Harmon of Reception Perception, part of the reason Egbuka’s start was so impressive is that he was producing in a setup that did not fully match his strengths. Last season, 68.6 percent of his routes came from the outside, while just 30.2 percent came from the slot. Harmon also noted that 64 percent of his routes were run from the line of scrimmage, even though that is not one of Egbuka’s strengths.
That’s where Robinson’s system comes in. In this offense, Egbuka is set to work as a “Z” receiver, which should let him run the kinds of routes he has thrived on - post, dig and slant - while lining up off the ball and using his ability to work coverage in space.
Robinson has seen this role produce huge numbers before. In 2021, when he was the Los Angeles Rams’ passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Cooper Kupp was the team’s “Z” receiver.
Kupp went on to win the receiving Triple Crown that season, leading the league with 145 catches, 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also earned AP Offensive Player of the Year honors and finished the run by being named Super Bowl LVI MVP in the Rams’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The fit could also help Egbuka add more after the catch, especially with a healthy training camp ahead. In Kupp’s Triple Crown season, he piled up 846 yards after the catch with an average depth of target of 8.6 yards and caught nearly 76 percent of his 191 targets. Egbuka, by comparison, had 335 yards after the catch last season, an ADOT of 12.1 yards and caught 49.6 percent of his 127 targets.
Whether he’s aligned outside or in the slot, the key point is the same: fewer snaps on the line of scrimmage should give Egbuka more room to win before the ball arrives and more space to work once it’s in his hands.
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