Josh Alper ,
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Buccaneers first-round pick Emeka Egbuka’s rookie season got off to a hot start, but his production has slowed down in recent weeks.
Egbuka had 25 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns in the first five weeks of the season, but has slowed to 29 catches for 361 yards and a touchdown over the last eight games. Coincidentally or not, the Bucs were 4-1 in the first five games and 3-5 in the last eight.
The slowdown has been exacerbated by a number of dropped passes, including a would-be touchdown in last Sunday’s loss to the Saints. On Tuesday, Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was asked if Egbuka’s confidence is lagging.
“I don’t even think it’s really confidence — he’s a very confident guy,” Grizzard said, via a transcript from the team. “What we’ve asked him to do [as a] rookie gets taken for granted a lot — even from the coaching staff. It’s not easy to do what he’s done on playing all three positions. He’s a guy that came in here from day one and has prepared the right way. He’s played all three spots. He’s won games for us. We have all the confidence in the world in him. We’re going to try to get it to him early, often, with the game on the line — which he’s proven he can do. No one’s more upset with him than himself.”
Injuries to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan have put a lot on Egbuka’s plate as a rookie and that could join defenses having a better idea of his game as reasons why his production has slowed. The Bucs are getting healthier around Egbuka and the hope will be that he can put together a strong enough finish to help the Bucs to another NFC South title.
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