• Emeka Egbuka could be the next great slot receiver: Some of the best slot receivers in recent seasons are on the backside of their career, opening the door for someone like Egbuka to stand out.
• Can Egbuka be more than a No. 2 option? Egbuka has played second fiddle to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
PFF’s fantasy football player profile series delivers the most in-depth fantasy football analysis available for the 2025 season.
Using PFF’s exclusive data, we evaluate player performance, competition for touches and how teammates and coaching staffs will impact each player's fantasy football outlook.
Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 2
Player Performance
Emeka Egbuka has spent the last three seasons as the second option in Ohio State’s passing game, first behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and second behind Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes are often ahead in games, allowing them to run the ball with future NFL running backs. This has hurt his cumulative statistics, but his per-route numbers are very strong relative to other wide receivers. His target rates remained extremely high for a No. 2 receiver.
Egbuka checks many boxes, including high separation scores and catch rates. While his speed isn’t elite, it’s what you would expect from a mid-to-late first-round pick for his size. On the downside, our draft guide notes his “route breaks could be sharper” and “his breaks aren’t as sharp or twitchy as some.” In general, you would hope players in college see their numbers improve each season, which wasn’t the case for Egbuka. Part of that is he played so well in his second year that there wasn’t as much room to improve as most receivers, but he also never exceeded an 85.0 receiving grade in a season like most other potential first-round wide receivers.
Projected Role
Egbuka spent most of his college career lined up in the slot, but he was also good enough to play in two-receiver sets most of the time at Ohio State. Like most slot targets, his average depth of target and deep target rate were relatively low. As his college career progressed, his rate of playing in the slot increased.
Egbuka is likely to continue seeing significant time in the slot in the NFL, but there is a possibility he also plays out wide. His yards-per-route run were higher when lined up out wide than in the slot. Last season, he ran 67 routes out wide and caught 16 of 21 passes for 196 yards. While his target rates remained high when lined up out wide, he still graded much better when lined up in the slot during each of the past three seasons.
Ideally, Egbuka plays as a Z receiver in base and in the slot in three-receiver sets. Egbuka can be a top-15 wide receiver if he lives up to the hype and plays in a good offense in that role. However, his upside could be limited if he only plays in the slot and doesn’t play much in two-receiver sets.
Most Mocked Teams
Denver Broncos
The Broncos pick 20th and have a few receivers beyond Courtland Sutton, who could be the second option in the offense. Egbuka could be anywhere from the top target earner to a rotational player in Denver.
Houston Texans
The Texans pick 25th and lack depth at wide receiver after not re-signing Stefon Diggs and losing Tank Dell for most, if not all, of the season due to injury. They traded for Christian Kirk. Egbuka and Kirk could rotate at Z receiver and in the slot. The only concern is that Egbuka might not earn snaps in two-receiver sets with Kirk and Nico Collins on the roster.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers traded for D.K. Metcalf this offseason to pair with George Pickens. Egbuka would be the slot receiver in three-receiver sets if the Steelers select him at the 21st pick. This would be a disaster for his fantasy value as a rookie, considering how much the Steelers use multiple tight end sets, unless Pickens is traded.
Bottom Line
Egbuka has been a number two receiver throughout college and will likely remain a No. 2 receiver in the NFL. If the offense is good enough, this can work fine for his fantasy value, but there are some landing spots where Egbuka’s fantasy value could be minimal.
Footnotes
- Statistics in tables and charts were generally chosen based on their ability to predict future fantasy performance on a per-game or per-opportunity basis or for their ability to describe the player relative to others at the same position.
- “Opportunities” are defined as passing dropbacks, rushing attempts and receiving routes run.
- Numbers are either by season or based on the past three years. For rookies, only college numbers are included. Only NFL numbers are included for non-rookies, even if they played in college during the previous three years.
- Because college competition is easier than NFL competition, most rookies will likely see a decline from their historic numbers.
- Only FBS data is considered for college players and comparisons.
- Kneel-downs are removed from rushing data to provide cleaner quarterback rushing rate statistics.
- The colors for all tables in this article range from blue (good or high) to red (bad or low).
- All percentiles or colors compare the given player to other players with a high sample of opportunities. Generally, the cut-off is one-third of the possible opportunities in the sample. If the player in question doesn’t have enough opportunities, they are still compared, even though they could look good or bad based on the small sample size, which might not be as predictive.
- Information on utilization classifications and their importance can be found here for running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.
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