The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held day one of mandatory minicamp on June 10, and Bucs rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka kept up his hot start.
“During Tuesday’s mini-camp practice, [quarterback Baker] Mayfield fired a bullet of a pass into traffic to Egbuka, showing great trust in his new pass-catcher to haul it in,” Pewter Report beat writer Bailey Adams relayed after practice. Adding: “The former Buckeye did so, catching it between a group of defenders near the goal line.”
“Soon after on a play that ultimately could’ve been whistled dead thanks to a would-be sack by [outside linebacker] Anthony Nelson, Mayfield finished the play and threw another dart to Egbuka, who made a great contested catch with fellow rookie Jacob Parrish in tight coverage,” Adams continued.
“The thing that sticks out is how cerebral he is,” Mayfield said of Egbuka after practice. “He’s so smart.”
“Right now, I think we can plug and play him at any receiver spot,” the Bucs signal-caller explained. “[Egbuka] understands the offense that well, and that’s just him being a pro already. He’s not a rookie – he doesn’t act like it, at least.”
Jalen McMillan Struggles on Day 1 of Bucs Minicamp
As one young playmaker excelled on June 10, another struggled, and that player was incumbent Buccaneers WR3 Jalen McMillan.
“It was somewhat of a tough day for second-year receiver Jalen McMillan, as he dropped a wide-open deep ball early in practice before the aforementioned play that saw Tykee Smith jar the ball loose to break up what could’ve and should’ve been a McMillan touchdown in the red zone,” Adams informed with the Pewter Report.
Earlier, he described the Smith pass defense in more detail.
“The biggest play of the [red zone] period came before that, as Jalen McMillan looked to have a touchdown catch in traffic, only for Tykee Smith to finish the play by knocking the ball loose for an incompletion,” Adams wrote.
Although McMillan made it perfectly clear that he does not view Egbuka as his competition, the two will be battling for snaps in 2025. That’s just the reality of the situation when you have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin atop the depth chart.
Due to his full season of NFL experience, McMillan certainly had the leg up on Egbuka early on, but the rookie appears to be closing the gap already. How the two fare throughout the rest of Bucs minicamp and training camp should determine who new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard relies on more come Week 1.
Day 1 of Buccaneers Minicamp Featured Big Plays From CB Bryce Hall & TE Devin Culp
Pewter Report was kind enough to relay several highlights from day one of Bucs mandatory minicamp, and two of them stood out. The first involved veteran cornerback Bryce Hall, a favorite of head coach Todd Bowles.
“The big turnover of the morning came on a ball that was tipped repeatedly by [wide receiver] Rakim Jarrett before cornerback Bryce Hall got his hands on it for an interception that he returned down the sideline for a pick-six,” Adams noted.
Fan favorite tight end Devin Culp also continued his rise, catching a “beautiful” sideline pass from [backup QB] Kyle Trask.
“[Trask] caught Culp in stride, and the speedy tight end raced to the end zone untouched from there,” the reporter recalled.
Among the other minicamp highlights were would-be sacks from Yaya Diaby, Nelson, SirVocea Dennis, Jose Ramirez, and rookie Elijah Roberts.
