Bucs Nation
While the conclusion of the 2025 season for the Buccaneers has largely brought dread and an extreme focus on the coaching staff, the 50th football campaign in Tampa history did yield some bright spots.
Generally speaking, the 2025 NFL Draft class churned out a lot more positive nuggets than negative ones for the Bucs, and we should hopefully see them build on a team core that’s still plenty talented. Let’s review the rookies.
What felt like a luxury pick at the time in April quickly became a master stroke from GM Jason Licht come in September, when the team found itself without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, AND Jalen McMillan due to injury. The then 22-year-old, the 19th overall pick in the draft, unexpectedly ascended into the role of WR1, which he handled better than anyone could’ve expected.
He won Offensive Rookie of Month for September after a torrid start that featured 18 catches for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns in his first four games — a start rivaled in history only by Ja’Marr Chase, Calvin Ridley, and Roy Williams.
He wasn’t without struggles, as he experienced a midseason slump when opposing defenses started keying in on him. He also seemed to struggle with confidence, recording 9 drops per Pro Football Reference. And while part of this has to do with Baker Mayfield’s regression and the offense’s overall stagnation down the stretch, Egbuka posted a poor overall catch rate of just 49.6% (63 catches on 127 targets).
So overall, quite bit of good with some bad, but certainly acceptable given everything that was happening around him. Tampa should feel good about the future moving forward with Egbuka and McMillan.
The Bucs attacked their putrid secondary issues from 2024 with gusto, making the first of back-to-back cornerback picks at 53rd overall with Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison.
Morrison put up plenty of excellent tape with the Fighting Irish, but he did have some injury history going into the league, which even prevented him from participating in most of the pre-draft process before a last-minute private workout for the Bucs.
Unfortunately, the injury bug didn’t just nip Morrison in 2025 — it nearly devoured him. Playing in just 10 games (3 starts), Morrison ended up on the injury report with hamstring issues at least 4 different times between training camp and the final week of the season. Add in occasionally rotating with Jamel Dean, and it never felt like Morrison could ever establish a proper rhythm on the field.
As such, Morrison struggled to the tune of 3 touchdowns and a 112.2 passer rating allowed on just 38 targets (22 catches), and he missed 6 tackles as well. It sure seemed like his struggles affected him beyond the injuries, as Todd Bowles admitted he was a healthy scratch for the second Atlanta Falcons game.
The 21-year-old showed some enticing flashes too, so it wasn’t a complete disaster, but he’ll...
