Bucs T Benjamin Chukwuma.
One guy Joe hasn’t written about from this summer is a guy who is really new to football, not just the NFL.
Through training camp and too often in preseason, the Bucs’ backup offensive line stunk. Despite that, the Bucs may have found a hidden gem in tackle Benjamin Chukwuma.
The Georgia State product was new to football in high school. He was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States at age 17. Football was as foreign to him as Texas brisket and key lime pie.
The 6-6, 310 man was a basketball and soccer player in high school and did play football his senior year.
Somehow, he wound up at Georgia State and was a walk-on with the football team his junior season. Chukwuma played in 10 games, all off the bench in 2023. In 2024, he started 11 games.
Yet the Bucs apparently saw something in him to sign him as an UDFA. Bucs coach Todd Bowles noted earlier this summer at times, Chukwuma looks like he’s never played football before. Other times, he looks pretty.
“I think when he learns it – and he can learn – he’s going to be a very tough player and a very good football player,” Bowles said. “When he does it right, there’s nothing prettier to watch.”
Joe loves the guy’s attitude. He seems like he likes contact.
“It’s amazing being in the trenches,” Chukwuma said after preseason. “Putting your face in someone and trying to drive them down the field is amazing.
“Doing things like that just fires me up because I love competition, I just want to show you that I’m stronger than you, that I can move you.”
Former NFL offensive lineman Brian Baldinger of NFL Network, while studying Bucs tape, had Chukwuma catch his eye. Baldinger referred to Chukwuma as a “natural.”
Given Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht’s knack for finding offensive linemen, this Chukwuma is interesting. The fact he made the 53-man roster suggests the Bucs clearly think they have something in Chukwuma.
.@Buccaneers @GeorgiaStateFB Benjamin Chukwuma made the "53" as an UDFA with 1 year of experience playing at any level of football. He is like Robert Redford in "the Natural" @wyche89 #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/NNPE9TKRey
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 29, 2025