Being the 17th wide receiver taken in the 2021 NFL Draft has given Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown all the extra motivation he needed. He keeps tabs on the receivers taken before him, with only a few having produced near the level he has through four seasons.
In a wide receiver class that is regarded as lacking the top-end talent recent classes have had, Emeka Egbuka will not have to wait as long as St. Brown did to be drafted. Which isn't to say the Ohio State product isn't talented, he absolutely is and he is being projected as a first round pick in a lot of places.
Egbuka missed some time due to injury in 2023. But in the two seasons on either side of that campaign he topped 70 catches with over 1,000 yards and exactly 10 touchdowns. During the Buckeyes' run to the national title last season, he had at last five catches in all four Playoff games with over 60 yards three times as he finished the season with 81 receptions for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns.
On Friday, Egbuka told reporters at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis that he won't be running the 40-yard dash or doing any other physical testing. As is the case with more and more draft prospects this year, he will do those things at his Pro Day.
While teams might like to see guys compete with their prospect peers at the combine, game tape and individual meetings are arguably more important.
And in regard to Egbuka's game tape, a lot of analysts see the same thing.
Emeka Egbuka is drawing consistent comparisons to Amon-Ra St. Brown
Egbuka is a top-20 prospect in this year's draft (No. 14) for Pro Football Focus, and writer Trevor Sikkema is comfortable with St. Brown as his comp.
"I feel like the Amon-Ra St, Brown comparison has been overused over the last few years. If a receiver was smaller and not the most athletic but produced a lot, people would gravitate towards St. Brown as their NFL comparison. In my opinion, the frequency with which that comparison was used didn’t give enough respect to how good St. Brown is, but I do believe Egbuka fits this time. Egbuka is bigger, but their games are very similar – winning with savvy route running and reliable hands on the outside or in the slot."
Egbuka (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and St. Brown (6-foot, 202 pounds) are actually practically the same physically.
PFF fantasy football analyst Max Chadwick sort of reinforced the Egbuka/St. Brown comp with mention of Egbuka's floor and ceiling.
As part of the combine notes from SI.com's Albert Breer heading into the event week, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah tabbed Egbuka as a potential St. Brown type. while also talking him as a virtual plug-and-play rookie.
There’s a little area in the receiver position I like,” Jeremiah said. “It’s the [Emeka] Egbuka–Matthew Golden area—in the 20s. I love both those guys. I think they’re both pros, super polished. In a draft that maybe doesn’t have the star power, I’m leaning into the guys that come in with no operating instructions. They’re easy. … super high character, super smart, productive.”
In a recent mock draft, where he had Egbuka going 32nd overall to the Philadelphia Eagles, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports made the St. Brown comparison.
"When you talk about 'big slots,' this is what you mean. I think he has some Amon-Ra St. Brown in his game."
There are others who have St. Brown as a comp for Egbuka, with fellow former Buckeye Jaxson Smith-Njigba as another.
A comparison to St, Brown will hard to live up to, but Egbuka looks like a guy who can fit it perfectly if he lands with the right team.
