Inside The Bucs 2025 Draft fasterkora.xyz

INTRO: You turn to Pewter Report for the inside scoop on the Bucs, especially when it comes to draft season. And we deliver. Here’s some of the scoop I was able to obtain about this year’s Tampa Bay draft class – and undrafted free agents – along with some of my insight and analysis. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Emeka Egbuka Has WR1 Potential

The comparisons between Bucs first-round pick Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin are stunning – and appropriate. At 6-foot-1, 209 pounds, Godwin is neither big nor terribly fast. Injuries to his knee and ankle have likely turned Godwin into a wide receiver with 4.5 speed at the age of 29.

Egbuka is 6-foot-1, 202 pounds is neither big nor terribly fast, either. He ran a respectable 4.45 at his Ohio State pro day. But like Godwin, all Egbuka does is get open, catch passes, move the chains and score touchdowns.

That’s really all good wide receivers need to do, and Egbuka does it remarkably well.

Godwin’s best trait is perhaps his reliability when it comes to presenting himself as a target. He’s always in the right spot at the right time and almost always makes the catch. The same can be said of Egbuka.

Both are also gritty blockers in the slot and on the perimeter, too.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Most Bucs fans think of Godwin as the No. 2 wide receiver in Tampa Bay because he plays alongside future Hall of Famer Mike Evans. But in reality, Godwin is really more of a WR1B to Evans’ WR1A role – rather than being a WR2.

The reason? Because from 2019-2022 and again in 2024, the Bucs passing game ran through the slot receiver position that Godwin has manned. And there have been several years when Godwin was actually the more productive receiver in Tampa Bay.

In 2019, Godwin’s lone Pro Bowl season, he had more catches, more yards and even more touchdowns than Evans, with a career-best 86 receptions for 1,333 yards and nine TDs. Godwin also had 24 more catches (98 to 74) and 68 more yards (1,103 to 1,035) than Evans in 2021 despite missing the final three games of the season due to a brutal knee injury he suffered against the Saints in December.

Last year, Godwin was leading Tampa Bay – and close to leading the league – in receiving with 50 catches for 576 yards and five touchdowns through the first seven weeks of the season, while Evans had 26 receptions for 335 yards and six TDs during that same span.

Egbuka served in the same capacity at Ohio State last year, serving as WR1B to freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who led the Buckeyes with 1,315 yards on 76 catches and 15 touchdowns. Egbuka was the leading receiver with 81 receptions for 1,011 yards and 10 TDs.

Egbuka had a similar season in 2022 as the WR1B next to Marvin Harrison Jr., who led Ohio State with 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. During his sophomore season, Egbuka was next with 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 scores.

For those that say that Godwin was a third-round pick, and by comparison, Egbuka was overdrafted in the first round, if we go back and re-draft the 2017 draft there’s no way Godwin falls to the second round – much less the third round. With 579 career catches for 7,266 yards and 39 touchdowns, including four 1,000-yard seasons, Godwin is easily worth a first-round pick in a re-draft scenario.

The other factor that played into the selection of Egbuka in the first round wasn’t necessarily the fact that Godwin is coming off a serious injury and is targeting Week 1 as his return date. Yes, Egbuka, whom the Bucs had a Top 10 grade on, is an immediate insurance policy in the slot just in case Godwin misses that date.

Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: USA Today

But more importantly, Evans turns 32 in August and Godwin is 29. The Bucs will need another starting-caliber wide receiver sooner rather than later, and there were really just three receivers that appear to have No. 1 wide receiver traits – Colorado’s Travis Hunter (Jacksonville), Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan (Carolina) and Egbuka.

The rest of the receivers selected in 2025, including Texas’ Matthew Golden (Green Bay), are more complementary receivers and depth pieces – a fact that Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema even supported on his appearance on Tuesday’s Pewter Report Podcast.

The Bucs were wise to draft Egbuka when they did as next year’s crop of wide receivers doesn’t seem to be stellar either, and lacks star power. Pro Football Focus currently has 12 receivers listed in the Top 100 for the 2026 NFL Draft, but only four in the first round.

Those are similar numbers to this year’s draft. In the end, only three receivers were drafted in the 2025 first round and 13 were drafted in rounds 1-3.

By drafting Egbuka this year, he will have at least one year’s worth of exposure to Evans, who is entering a contract year, as well as least three year’s worth of learning from Godwin. The knowledge gleaned from two established pros like Evans and Godwin will only accelerate his learning curve in Tampa Bay.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, likened Egbuka to former Buckeyes star Terry McLaurin, who is Washington’s top receiver. McLaurin is a legit, 1,000-yard receiver and a two-time Pro Bowler.

That comp also makes a lot of sense and reinforces the notion that Egbuka is not only a future starter – but a future star, too.

FAB 2. Bucs Were Not That High On ILB Jihaad Campbell

You might have noticed in Pewter Report’s Bucs 2025 draft coverage that outside of a Pewter Pulse video I did on the “Jihaad Campbell Dilemma,” we didn’t do much reporting on the Alabama linebacker. He was never the pick for Tampa Bay in any of our Pewter Report Bucs mock drafts, nor was he a Bucs Best Bet at inside linebacker.

Neither I nor Josh Queipo, Pewter Report’s other chief draft analyst and the co-author of our Bucs mock drafts, liked Campbell’s instincts. We didn’t view him as a first-round player, and neither did the rest of the NFL outside of the Philadelphia Eagles, who drafted Campbell with the No. 31 pick near the end of round.

Alabama ILB Jihaad Campbell – Photo by: USA Today

Campbell was the most mocked player to the Bucs by other media outlets – and most national media outlets, too. He was never going to be the pick at No. 19, and that was something we at Pewter Report just sensed during the draft process.

Perhaps it was the shoulder surgery he had done in March that caused him to slide down the board in the first round, but I’ve learned that even with healthy medical reports, the Bucs would not have been in on Campbell in the first round due to the game film. In fact, their top-rated inside linebacker was UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger, who was drafted at the top of the second round by Cleveland at No. 33.

Would the Bucs have drafted Schwesinger at No. 19 if Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka was off the board or would they have drafted Boston College outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku instead? Given where those players were taken – Ezeiruaku fell to Dallas in the middle of the second round at No. 44 – Tampa Bay would’ve traded down in the first round before selecting either player to get more value and acquire more picks.

FAB 3. Bucs Were Going To Pick Elijah Roberts Over Jeffrey Bassa

While the Pewter Report staff was crestfallen over Kansas City trading up into the fifth round to select Oregon inside linebacker Jeffrey Bassa one spot ahead of Tampa Bay, the Bucs were set on picking SMU defensive lineman Elijah Roberts anyway.

The team had Roberts, who will move from defensive end in college to defensive tackle in the NFL due to his 6-foot-3, 292-pound frame, rated higher than Bassa on their board because there were some concerns about the Ducks linebacker’s instincts.

Despite the apparent need at linebacker, the Bucs continued their process of sticking with their draft board and taking the best player available in each round. Tampa Bay wanted to take advantage of a deep defensive tackle draft and select another young, interior pass rusher to replace Will Gholston, who turns 34 this summer. The fact that Logan Hall, the team’s second-round pick in 2022, is entering a contract year also factored into the equation when it came to selecting Roberts.

Bucs DL Elijah Roberts – Photo courtesy of SMU

After transferring from Miami, Roberts had two standout seasons at SMU season posting back-to-back Pro Football Focus overall defensive grades of 91, which is incredibly hard to do. Yet with PFF crediting Roberts with an astonishing 47 pressures and had 10 sacks in 2023 and then 45 more pressures last year when he notched 7.5 sacks, it’s easy to see why.

PFF had Roberts as the No. 87 overall prospect and the Bucs drafted him at No. 157, which was tremendous value. Almost as much value as Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson being rated as PFF’s No. 138 ranked prospect and being drafted at No. 235. Tampa Bay got a third-round player in Roberts in the fifth round and a fourth-round player in the seventh round with Johnson.

That’s exceptional drafting.

One more bonus is that Roberts played for new Bucs defensive line coach Charlie Strong at Miami in 2022. Strong was the Hurricanes linebackers coach and defensive coordinator that season, so he actually has more familiarity with Roberts than he does with Vita Vea or Calijah Kancey.

Roberts told yours truly and Matt Matera on Thursday’s Pewter Report Podcast that he’s also been told that he could see some time as an edge rusher and will have some exposure to the outside linebackers room as well. Looks like Todd Bowles just got another chess piece that he can move up and down the line of scrimmage.

FAB 4. Tampa Bay Is Thrilled With Its Undrafted Free Agent Class

While it will be more of an uphill climb than ever for undrafted free agents to make the 53-man roster, the Bucs are excited about several members of the 2025 undrafted free agent class. Georgia State offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma is at the top of the list. Tampa Bay made the athletic Chukwuma this year’s highest-paid undrafted free agent in the NFL. The Bucs gave him $300,000 in guaranteed money, which all but assures him of at least making the practice squad.

Fox Sports’ Greg Auman did a feature on the Nigerian-born Chukwuma, who made the Georgia State roster as a try-out and has only played two years of football. The Bucs are excited to see what offensive line guru Kevin Carberry due to develop the 6-foot-5, 303-pound Chukwuma, who has the athleticism to be a swing tackle. Chukwuma has an 83-inch wingspan and nearly 34-inch arms.

The Bucs are also high on Texas center Jake Majors and Nebraska center Ben Scott. Majors is 6-foot-3, 304 pounds and was the ninth-rated center in the draft, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. He started 57 consecutive games for the Longhorns and had a sixth-round grade.

Scott is a 6-foot-5, 306-pound center, who played right tackle at Arizona State before transferring to Nebraska in 2023. He wound up starting 24 out of 25 games at center for the Cornhuskers.

Another Cornhusker, linebacker John Bullock, has a shot at making the team or perhaps the practice squad as Tampa Bay did not draft a linebacker this year. In 2023, the 6-foot, 230-pound Bullock notched 50 tackles, three tackles for loss, two passes defended, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

This past season he recorded 70 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five passes defensed, four sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception return for a touchdown. Bullock has 4.63 speed and will undoubtedly be excited to learn from Nebraska legend Lavonte David in Tampa Bay.

Bucs ILB John Bullock – Photo by: USA Today

Of course, the Bucs are excited about the signing of massive Florida defensive tackle Desmond Watson, who is 6-foot-6 and currently weighs 437 pounds. I wrote about him on Friday morning and did a Pewter Pulse video on Watson’s signing on Sunday.

One of the interesting rookie mini-camp invites is Boston College wide receiver Dino Tomlin, who is the son of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Of course Tomlin got his start in the NFL as Tampa Bay’s defensive backs coach from 2001-05, so he’s partial to the Bucs organization due to his time with the team.

As for his Tomlin’s son, Dino, he was a reserve receiver for the Eagles who spent his first three years at Maryland catching three passes for 19 yards before transferring to Boston College. At BC, Tomlin caught 37 passes for 522 yards (13.8 avg.) and no touchdowns with his most productive season happening in 2023 with 24 receptions for 312 yards. Tomlin had only three catches for 40 yards in 10 games last season.

Bucs vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl will be joining the Pewter Report Podcast on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET to discuss the undrafted free agent class and rookie mini-camp invites, as well as Tampa Bay’s 2025 draft class.

FAB 5. Bucs Draft Nuggets

• Bucs first round pick Emeka Egbuka was in demand in the first round. Tampa Bay did field calls from both the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans trying to trade up to No. 19 and select him. The Rams let go of 32-year old Cooper Kupp this offseason in a salary cap move and viewed Egbuka as a Kupp-like talent who would thrive in Sean McVay’s offense.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud played with Egbuka at Ohio State for two seasons and was lobbying for him. Houston needed help at wide receiver with Tank Dell slated to miss most or all of the 2025 season due to a serious knee injury at the end of the 2024 campaign.

The Bucs wisely stayed put instead and drafted Egbuka. For the second straight year, Tampa Bay did not make any draft day trades.

• Tampa Bay had taken two talented edge rushers off its draft board due to character concerns. It was widely reported that Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. had some attitude issues within the Volunteers program, yet the Falcons traded next year’s first-round pick to move back into the first round to get him. We’ll see how that works out in Atlanta. The Falcons will pair him with fellow first-round edge rusher Jalon Walker out of Georgia.

The other edge rusher was Marshall’s Mike Green, who fell to Baltimore in the second round. The nation’s leading sacker had alleged sexual assault allegations in both high school and at Virginia before transferring to Marshall.

• Tampa Bay drafted back-to-back cornerbacks for the third time under general manager Jason Licht. The Bucs selected Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison in the second round and Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish in the third round.

Morrison will likely be cast as an outside cornerback and compete with Jamel Dean for the right to start opposite Zyon McCollum once he’s medically cleared to take the field as he recovers from hip surgery. Parrish, who is just under 5-foot-10, will compete with Christian Izien for the starting nickelback job in the slot.

One thing the Bucs love about Morrison and Parrish is their high football I.Q. Both started as true freshman for the Fighting Irish and Wildcats, respectively.

In 2018, the team drafted M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis III in the second round. In 2019, the Bucs selected Sean Murphy-Bunting in the second round and Jamel Dean in the third round. Murphy-Bunting and Dean teamed with Davis in the secondary to help Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV the following year.

Bucs WR Tez Johnson – Photo by: USA Today

• With the Bucs needing to bolster the talent at wide receiver, Tampa Bay drafted Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka in the first round and Oregon’s Tez Johnson in the seventh round. Even at 154 pounds, Johnson could make the 53-man roster as the team’s punt returner and as a reserve receiver. The Ducks star had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and was rated as a fourth-round prospect by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

Egbuka will start at No. 4 on the depth chart behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and last year’s third-round pick, Jalen McMillan, and there’s a chance that Johnson could wind up as WR5. If the Bucs only keep five receivers on the active roster three of them could be from the last two draft classes.

To say that new Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard is thrilled with the selections of both Egbuka and Johnson would be an understatement.

• The Bucs continue to love drafting Senior Bowl participants. Half of the team’s 2025 draft class were invited to the all-star game in Mobile, Ala. this year. Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish (third round), Central Arkansas edge rusher David Walker (fourth round) and Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson (seventh round) were all Senior Bowl participants.

Johnson was one of the standouts during the week of practice and was unguardable, while Walker, who was a Pewter Report Bucs Best Bet at outside linebacker, had a sack of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in the Senior Bowl game.

• Pewter Report had over 50,000 views on its LIVE Draft Show over three days from April 24-26 between our PewterReportTV YouTube channel and our social media channels on X and Facebook. That’s nearly double the amount of viewership we had last year for the Bucs 2024 draft – so thank you, Pewter People! We also would like to thank our sponsors – Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux and 72HRPrint.com for their support.