The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an offensive unit often considered among the best in the NFL. In 2025, injuries hampered them a bit, and they missed out on winnable games down the stretch and the playoffs. Heading into 2026, most of the offense returns, with some additions and subtractions, and now they are being reviewed by ESPN.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked all the offensive skill player groups in the NFL. For the Bucs, they dipped a bit in the rankings from 7th to 22nd in 2026, and he broke it down by position group in his reasoning. For the wide receiver, it all centered around the uncertainty surrounding so many of the players in the position group.
Barnwell writes, “What can we count on from the Bucs’ new ‘Big Three’ in 2026? Emeka Egbuka was awesome to start the season, averaging 2.3 yards per route run through Week 10. He was down to 1.3 afterward, below guys such as Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Hutchinson. Chris Godwin Jr. came back from his gruesome ankle injury, dealt with fibula issues after initially returning and wasn’t back for good until Week 12. He had solid games against the Cardinals and Dolphins, but at 30 and with multiple serious injuries in his past, I’m not sure it’s realistic to project a peak-caliber season from Godwin, even after Evans’ departure.”
The departure of Evans is proving to be more of a hit than many folks had expected. Having an aging Chris Godwin doesn’t help matters, but folks are also discounting Emeka Egbuka’s ability. Things should allow them to outplay that 22nd ranking, especially if the wide receivers overperform.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: What did ESPN think of the Bucs’ wide receivers heading into 2026?
