Who knows what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense would’ve looked like last year if Jason Licht didn’t draft Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick.

We do know the receiver corps would’ve been shot by Week 3 thanks to injuries suffered by Jalen McMillan and Mike Evans. Plus, the offense dealt with Chris Godwin’s recovery and subsequent setback that cost him five games from Weeks 6-11 and a total of eight games, in all.

Baker Mayfield’s life would’ve been miserable without Egbuka. Plain and simple. He helped carry the passing attack as the injuries piled up and immediately showed why he was worth a first-round pick.

However, the Buccaneers had to watch Egbuka eventually hit the rookie wall, and that’s understandable. He was asked to do a lot and the mental load, along with the wear and tear of a regular season, caught up to him.

Regardless, it’s a new season and the Buccaneers’ receiver room is currently at full health. That in itself should help take a chunk of the load off Emeka Egbuka, but new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson also has a plan that can help further the second-year wideout’s development.

Buccaneers want Emeka Egubka to “settle in” at the Z position

With Chris Godwin Jr. and Ted Hurst in the mix, the Buccaneers want Egbuka to settle down at the “Z”, or flanker position, on offense.

“We’ll settle him into one spot, kind of our Z spot,” Robinson told reporters Tuesday. “But again, he, in some instances, he might look like he’s playing the X. Some instances, he might be the F, just based on the formation [and] how you can move him around…

“… So, you know, I think ‘Mek’s just going to take huge, huge strides. He’s getting to know the new terminology and asking great questions.”

Per Pro Football Focus, Egbuka recorded at least 15 offensive snaps at eight different receiver alignments and even one snap at halfback. He has the ability to play the X, Z, and F positions, but dialing in and focusing on one spot makes a lot of sense.

Simplifying things, to an extent, allows Egbuka to dial in and concentrate on what needs to be done in order to maximize his role.

“I keep throwing the word intentional around, but that is him to a tee,” said Robinson. “The amount of work and preparation that he puts into it, he’s very similar to, like a Cooper Kupp, you know, just in terms of the way that his brain works with the game of football and the natural instincts, but he doesn’t have to change a thing. I think he’s come back [and] refreshed.”

What can the Buccaneers expect from Emeka Egbuka as the team’s flanker?

So, the “Z” receiver lines up a yard or two off the line of scrimmage and is typically on the same side as the tight end. Lining up off the LOS allows the receiver to go in motion, whereas the “X” is attached to the line and remains stationary before the snap.

A flanker is typically a quicker, versatile receiver that can run most of the routes on a route tree. Allowing Egbuka to move around will help create mismatches for both him and the other receivers on the roster.

With Godwin Jr. and Hurst manning the X position, mostly, it makes a lot of sense to move Egbuka to Z. Especially when McMillan is better suited for the slot, or “F” position.

Either way, the Buccaneers enter 2026 with a deep, versatile receiver room and that also extends to both the tight end and running back positions.

“I think it’s a great problem to have,” said Robinson. “Sometimes an offense can go through one guy or one or two guys, and the more that you can spread the football around and get other guys involved and keep those guys on the other side of the football, you know, off a little bit that’s definitely a huge advantage.

“It’s our job as coaches to make sure we’re dishing the ball around and if there’s a hot hand, we have to go to the hot hand too. So, [we’re] not losing sight of some of those things that naturally happen throughout a course of a game. It’s a fun group of guys to be around and just work with, because the versatility of the whole entire group, receivers, tight ends, backs is pretty cool.”

A strong receiver room, when healthy, has been a yearly tradition in Tampa Bay for some time now and it looks like that torch will be carried into the 2026 season, as well.