Emeka Egbuka’s Sudden Drop-Off Raises Big Fantasy Football Questions

For the first month of the season, Emeka Egbuka looked like a league-winning fantasy gem.

Across his first five games, he posted 25 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns. 

He drew national praise and kept an injury-plagued Buccaneers offense afloat and led them to a 5-1 record. 

But over his last six outings the numbers have fallen off a cliff. 

He has only 23 catches for 304 yards and just one touchdown since Week 5, a decline highlighted by Yahoo Fantasy Sports on Sunday. 

Yahoo even broke it down bluntly: 18 fantasy points per game in Weeks 1-5, just 8 per game from Weeks 6-12. 

His latest outing didn’t help quiet concerns.

In Tampa Bay’s lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Egbuka was held to three catches for 32 yards. 

Most of that came on a single deep grab from Teddy Bridgewater in garbage time of the fourth quarter. 

The first-rounder out of Ohio State looks like a player fighting through a rookie wall. 

And fantasy managers are asking a simple question: Will he regain his early-season success? 

What’s Changed for Egbuka?

The short answer is that almost everything around him has deteriorated.

Tampa Bay’s offense has been gutted by injuries for weeks. 

The Buccaneers have been rolling out a shredded offensive line.

They also haven’t seen Bucky Irving since Week 4, and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have appeared in only a handful of games combined.  

That left Egbuka as the focal point of defensive game plans and opponents have adjusted.

Quarterback play has been equally shaky.  

Baker Mayfield opened the year hot and was even considered by many to be the MVP favorite after Week 6. 

Since then, he has dealt with a shoulder injury, inconsistent accuracy, and declining efficiency. 

In the Rams game, he exited at halftime, forcing Bridgewater into action and further disrupting the passing rhythm for Egbuka. 

A rookie wideout asked to carry an entire offense behind a damaged line and a injured QB room is rarely going to sustain elite production. 

And that’s exactly what’s shown up on the stat sheet. 

He has fewer explosive plays, more contested targets, and a dramatic drop in scoring opportunities as the Bucs offense as a whole has taken a major step back. 

Defenses no longer fear Tampa’s run game, they no longer fear a healthy Evans, and they know that taking away Egbuka means taking away the most important part of their offense. 

Egbuka’s Fantasy Football Outlook Going Forward

Even with the recent struggles, it’s not all doom for fantasy managers.

Egbuka still leads all rookies in receiving touchdowns and still profiles as the clear WR1 in Tampa. 

The Tampa Bay offense will get a boost this week with the return of Bucky Irving.

That will take a lot of the pressure off of the rookie wideout. 

Additionally, Emeka has an amazing schedule ahead of him with six straight favorable fantasy football matchups. 

He will face off against the Cardinals and Saints in the next two weeks and then Panthers twice and Dolphins in the fantasy football playoffs. 

All four of those defenses are in the bottom 10 of the entire NFL. 

The only concern for me is the status of Baker Mayfield. 

Monday’s MRI has revealed that Mayfield has sustained a low-grade strain, according to NFL Media. 

This means that Tampa Bay could get Mayfield back as early as Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. 

Egbuka is definitely a buy-low type of guy right now and could get back to his early-season form as the Bucs offense continues to be healthy. 

With Godwin and Irving back now, Mayfield’s status trending, and the return of Mike Evans in the near future, the Bucs offense could be back to full strength soon. 

This will open up things dramatically for Egbuka for a fantasy football playoff surge. 

Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

The post Emeka Egbuka’s Sudden Drop-Off Raises Big Fantasy Football Questions appeared first on Heavy Sports.