TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka isn't flinching at the notion that he'll be called upon an awful lot heading into his first NFL game on Sept. 7.
"I mean they drafted me for a specific reason, a specific purpose," Egbuka, the 19th pick in the 2025 NFL draft, told ESPN.
The Bucs open at the Atlanta Falcons, with Mercedes Benz Stadium being the place where Egbuka won his last college game, the College Football Playoff National Championship.
"They have all the belief in the world of me, which gives me a ton of confidence to be able to go out there and do what God created me to do," said Egbuka, who led the Buckeyes with six catches and 64 receiving yards in the title game.
There were high hopes when he arrived in Tampa, and as general manager Jason Licht put it last month, "He's everything that we thought plus some." But now he'll be counted on to deliver.
Egbuka spent all of camp stepping in for Chris Godwin Jr., who was just cleared to resume practicing after suffering a dislocated left ankle last fall. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Godwin still is unlikely to play until October.
But the big new development has been Jalen McMillan suffering a significant neck sprain that sources say will likely keep him out until after their Week 9 bye.
On top of that, tight end Cade Otton is expected to miss some practice time this week because of leg soreness while also battling a hamstring injury, jeopardizing his status for Week 1.
Egbuka is counting on the trust he and quarterback Baker Mayfield have spent the summer building, on and off the field.
"I don't think there's a specific moment [when it happens]," Egbuka said. "I think trust is built over time. There's not a specific instance that causes it. I think it's just his trust is going to continue to increase the longer I do my job, and I am where I'm supposed to be on the field, I'm being accountable. And that's not just for Baker, that's for the rest of the team."
He not only learned Godwin's role, but every receiver's role -- which will allow him to take on more work outside opposite Mike Evans and allow a trusted veteran like Sterling Shepard to step in.
"They've asked me to do a lot of things, which is exactly what I love," Egbuka said. "I want to be used in a ton of different ways, get the ball to me in creative ways, all that type of stuff. I try to be a Swiss Army knife."
There's also Ryan Miller, who led the Bucs with 95 yards this preseason. A converted tight end from Furman who came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2023, he said it took him a while to navigate a position change, although it does give him a leg up on blocking.
"I will say my rookie year, I don't think I was entirely ready to play in the NFL," Miller said. "I was still developing. ... Transitioning to NFL wide receiver, I guess was a little bit different for me, having to work against outside cornerbacks and stuff like that. But being consistent, working on my craft, I had a good offseason this past offseason, just working out. I would throw with Baker about once or twice a week, so I was here prepping for the season."
Another contributor to look out for -- especially over the top -- will be rookie seventh-round pick Tez Johnson, who missed the first preseason game because of a leg injury but finished with 12 catches for 82 yards, a touchdown and a stellar celebratory layout backflip in the end zone. At the NFL combine this spring, he registered 22.17 mph on a go route - the fastest of any receiver there.
"Obviously, we love Chris and J-Mac ... but my role is whatever they tell me, and I can just do it to the best of my ability," Johnson said. "We rally around all our players injured or not. We're all a family here, so whatever my role is throughout the season, that's what I do the best of my ability. ... We've got a lot of weapons -- a lot of people know that -- but a lot of things happen throughout the season, throughout camp, stuff like that. But everybody's prepared for the worst."
Down Godwin and Evans in a Week 9 game at the Kansas City Chiefs last year, the Bucs learned in warmups that they would be without McMillan, as well.
"I found out in the locker room when we got here, or after he did the workout," Mayfield said at the time. "We had some plays designed for him."
They were able to compete with the AFC champs, but they wound up losing 30-24 in overtime.
"You just have to be able to adjust," new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard told ESPN after serving as the team's passing coordinator last season. "It could be [the] line, it could be receivers -- whatever it might be, just like last year -- and get the next guys in there. And then try to highlight their abilities, try to get them involved."
The Bucs had a very competitive camp at receiver, with contributors from last year such as Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett getting cut, along with Garrett Greene, who caught 8-of-8 pass attempts for 65 yards and signed to the practice squad. Shepard believes that prepared them to step up with injuries and sudden changes.
"We knew going into camp that we had a deep room, and it was going to have to be some difficult decisions whenever you get down to the end of it," said Shepard, entering his 10th season and second with the Bucs. "But everybody put their best foot forward, and it brought the best out of everybody."