Vitals

High-end NFL Player Comp(s): Prime Robert Woods
Low-end NFL Player Comp(s): Tyler Boyd

Best Scheme Fit: Primary slot option in a West Coast-based offense with some occasional work as a movement "Z".

Best Team Fit(s): Texans, Commanders, Cardinals, Eagles

Non-bolded times - Good examples of attribute
Bolded times - Average/poor examples of attribute

* - How well does his skill set carry over to the fantasy game? For receivers, a player needs to be a realistic threat for 70 catches and 1,000 receiving yards at some point early in their career to be a candidate for a perfect grade. Positional scarcity at the pro level is also a part of the equation.

Positives

• Wonderful coverage recognition and understanding; knows where he needs to be and when he needs to get there against zone coverage.
  
  
• Improves the chances of making his quarterback right with how often he works back to the throw.
  
  
• Was not asked to high-point very often but showed exceptional body control on back-shoulder fades and other routes near the sideline.
  
  
• Suffers the occasional focus drop but was otherwise very sure-handed throughout his career; recorded a 5.5-percent drop rate over his four-year career (12 drops on 282 career targets).
  
  
• Wins with footwork and pacing on routes, which typically translates well to the NFL.
  
  
• Tracks the ball over his shoulder incredibly well.
  

Negatives

• Disappointing run-after-catch ability for a player with his strength.
  
  
• Inconsistent at creating separation against man coverage on short and intermediate routes.
  
  
• Occasionally snuck behind zone coverage but lacks the speed to be much more than a chain-mover in the NFL.
  
  
• Underwhelming blocker, although he had a few moments when he sealed the edge to spring a big run.
  
  
• Lined up in the slot on 73.2 percent of his college snaps; not a lot of evidence he can win on the outside, especially against NFL-quality cornerbacks.
  
  
• Frustrating route tree in 2024; ran too many screens, hitches, shallow crossers and slants for someone with his skill set.

Bottom Line

Many college receivers win because they are usually a better athlete than the players lining up across from them. Egbuka wins largely because he has been a pro receiver playing in college for most of his four years with the Buckeyes. Most successful teams have a receiver like Egbuka - a crafty wideout who is comfortable being the sidekick and more than happy to work the middle of the field and move the chains. He has some of the best footwork from a receiver in this draft class and catches just about everything in his direction. His football intelligence and spatial awareness also shine through with how quickly he identifies the void in zone coverages. Although he never had a chance to be the alpha in college playing behind the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeremiah Smith (likely top-10 pick - if not No. 1 overall - in 2027), it speaks volumes that he is the school's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. (Remember, the Buckeyes have put Harrison, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Terry McLaurin and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the pros in just the last decade.) While it is questionable if there is such a thing as a "safe" pick, he is darn close.

For all Egbuka does well, he is a limited athlete. Ohio State inexplicably used him a lot on screens and shallow crossers, which resulted in the occasional big play but mostly exposed his average run-after-catch ability (career-low 5.9 in 2024). He does not get out of his breaks very quickly all that often, which makes him more of a power slot that does not strike fear into defenses with his size or speed. Another concern of evaluators is how often the Buckeyes put him in the slot. (Among wideouts with at least 100 targets last season, Egbuka ranked ninth in slot rate at 81.1 percent.) It is not necessarily a bad thing for a college receiver to live in the slot - especially at a school known for churning them out like Ohio State - but it might be a red flag for NFL teams since he was not creating a ton of separation with many free releases inside. He's not overly fast either, which means that he might be exactly what he was in college: a chain-moving slot receiver who makes his living over the middle and 15 yards or closer to the line of scrimmage. Egbuka is extremely unlikely to be the next Smith-Njigba, who is more dynamic after the catch. However, he should be a very good No. 2 receiver for a long time, much as Woods was in his prime.


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