Receiver error high.
Every once in a while, Joe will read a comment where someone may grumble that the Bucs drafted a wide receiver in the first round and not, say, an inside linebacker or a safety.
Joe gets that sentiment. One could argue that on paper, even by reaching, the Bucs could have used an inside linebacker.
Joe thinks the main reason why the Bucs selected Egbuka at No. 19 overall was that they were true to their board. The Bucs swear they had Egbuka as a top-10 pick and he was still on the board at No. 19.
Then again, when is the last time a team drafted someone in the first round and they claimed the guy was a second-round talent but they reached for him anyway because they liked how he interviewed?
Now the Bucs swear that Chris Godwin’s injury had nothing to do with the Egbuka pick. Sure, Jan. Joe finds that difficult to believe. Not even subliminally were the Bucs not aware Godwin was iffy to get on the field Week 1?
But here is why the Bucs pulled the trigger on Egbuka, aside from his superior talent and upside: When both Mike Evans and Godwin missed the same three games last year, the production the Bucs got from their receivers was awful. It really fell off the cliff.
So that right there suggested drafting a receiver wasn’t a silly choice.
But wait, there’s more: Noted handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp put out some stats last week that showed the percentage of incomplete passes caused by receiver error.
The Bucs were a bit high in this. The Bucs were tied at No. 6 with the likes of receiver powerhouses Pittsburgh, Carolina, Houston, Dallas and Tennessee.
Houston, like the Bucs, had major injuries to their receivers.
So let’s think about this: The Bucs’ two best receivers missed a total of 13 games, including three full games at the same time. Take those guys out of the lineup and the Bucs were banking on a rookie, an aging veteran and a collection of hangers-on for Baker Mayfield to throw to.
So yeah, on a macro level, Joe can sort of understand someone grumbling about drafting a receiver at No. 19. But dig a little deeper, and one can see the bones buried beneath the surface.
highest rate of incompletions due to receiver error:
23% – GB
22% – NYJ
21$
20% – LAC, ATL
19% – CIN
18% – NYG, NO, SF, WAS
17% – PIT, TB, CAR, HOU, DAL, TEN
16% – IND, CLE, MIA, DEN
15% – MIN, BUF, BAL
14% – KC, ARI
12% – NE, CHI, PHI, LAR
11%
10%
9% – DET
8% – LV
*2024…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 28, 2025