Former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is walking into as perfect a situation with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as any rookie receiver in history.
The 19th overall pick in the 2025 draft has aging veterans playing in front of him that include a Hall-of-Famer in Mike Evans, and a Pro Bowl talent in Chris Godwin. Together, the Godwin-Evans duo has consistently been one of the better receiving pairs in the league over the last decade.
There's another veteran on the team that has helped Egbuka in his transition to the NFL, though. And this one is overlooked on Tampa Bay's loaded roster.
Former New York Giant Sterling Shepherd.
Egbuka spoke with NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Sam Wyche after OTAs this week and name-dropped Shepherd as a key person in his development.
"I think every time I come back from running a route, if I a ran a good route or I didn't run a so-good route, Sterling [Shepard] is one of the first ones to be able to tell me and we'll watch it together on film post practice — we're always studying the game," Egbuka said.
Shepherd was once a second round pick by New York in 2016 and quickly became a dependable player in their offense. He had over 500 yards receiving in each of his first five seasons with the team.
Injuries forced the veteran out of New York, though, and into the Buccaneers locker room. He recorded 32 catches for over 330 yards, and a single touchdown last season for the Buccaneers in 2024.
This season, Shepherd is fighting for a roster spot once again. The fact that he continues to be a leader for someone like Egbuka shows just how special a person he is.
And how important he could be for Tampa in 2025.