Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka WILL BE A STEAL | 2025 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
Follow
3/21/2025
Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka needs way more hype! Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts break down the 2025 NFL Draft prospect in their Emeka Egbuka Scouting Profile
Category
🥇
Sports
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Is Emeka Ibuka the most forgotten wide receiver prospect in the 2025 NFL draft?
00:09
Emeka Ibuka had an incredibly prolific college career, a very productive one for the Ohio State
00:15
Buckeyes. Ryan, why does it feel like he's getting forgotten about in this class?
00:19
Because he kind of plays a boring style a little bit, right? Like the cool things that Emeka
00:24
Ibuka brings to the table are the nuanced things that we like to talk about, right?
00:29
Like the coaches are really going to geek up about Emeka Ibuka because he runs good routes,
00:33
because he is a crafty player, he understands blind spots. None of that though, Joe, is sexy
00:38
to like everybody that watches, right? Like he's not going to run the fastest 40. He's not going
00:42
to jump out of the gym. He's not going to do some of these athletic feats that some of these freak
00:46
shows are doing, but Emeka Ibuka just does a lot of things that makes him a really good football
00:51
player. I really like Emeka Ibuka in this class because he does everything at a very high floor
00:57
level. He just checks all the boxes. He's got reliable hands. He's a good route runner. He's
01:01
going to thrive in the slot. I'm surprised that we don't see more people talking about him as being a
01:07
super worthy, super highly attractive receiver prospect in this 2025 class. We spent so much
01:14
time debating, can Ted McMillan play as fast as his film indicates? Can Luther Burden improve
01:20
his production? We had the debate about Matthew Golden. Is he good enough to maybe be wide
01:24
receiver one? But here we are with Emeka Ibuka who might even fall out of the first round and
01:28
could actually maybe go on to be the most productive receiver in this class because of how
01:33
reliable he could go on to become in an offense. I mean, but you just have to think about the guys
01:38
you compared him to, right? We're talking about Ted McMillan, who's six foot five and has a crazy
01:43
catch radius. You're talking about Luther Burden, who's dynamite in space. You're talking about
01:46
Matthew Golden, who, although he doesn't play 4-2-8s, he just ran 4-2-8 at the combine. Those
01:51
are things that people like to get excited about and they'd like to talk about. They don't like
01:55
talking about good route runners, Joe. They don't like talking about guys that understand spacing.
01:58
They don't like talking about guys that know how to settle down into zones, depending on what is
02:03
developing in front of them from a coverage shell perspective. All those things are boring from a
02:08
technical perspective, but all the things are also why Emeka Ibuka is probably going to end up being
02:13
a perennial 900, a thousand yard receiver on the next level. And he might never end up being a
02:19
number one overall receiver for a team, but you know what I know is that he's going to be a good
02:25
player without question. There's no boom or bust to Emeka Ibuka, which I think is why people don't
02:29
think of him as like this exciting prospect. He is one of the highest floor overall players in
02:35
this class. I know that he's going to be a good receiver on the next level without question.
02:40
If we had to identify just some weaknesses for him, because we're hyping him up for saying like
02:44
how great he could be, how consistent he can be. What are some of the weaknesses that stand out?
02:49
I think the first easy one that we've already brought up is that he's not a crazy great
02:55
athlete. He's not like a guy that's going to be as twitched up and as explosive as some of these
02:59
other names. He's going to be on the lower end of athleticism that we look for in a slot receiver.
03:04
Yeah. I mean, he's a good athlete, right? Like he's not a great athlete. He's not
03:07
exceptional by any standards. He's going to be probably a high four, four to four,
03:12
five flat type of guy, which is totally fine. He's going to have good solid change of direction,
03:17
but again, he's not going to be elite. He's not going to be elite anywhere in terms of
03:20
athleticism. And that's why some people are going to undervalue him a little bit.
03:24
I would, I would freeze him as I think he's more smooth and explosive, which is fine for the slot.
03:31
But I just think that's what he is. And I also think that we keep talking about the slot because
03:35
he is a little bit role dependent on the next level. He can play outside some, but the majority
03:41
of what he did at Ohio state and the margin majority of what he's going to do in the NFL level
03:45
is separating from the inside. I don't think he's a guy that's going to run,
03:49
you know, an incredibly advanced route tree outside. I don't, these guys is going to make
03:53
a ton of plays down the field. He is a slot specific player who can play a little bit of Z,
03:58
but I do think that role specificness is what is going to potentially limit him on the NFL level
04:04
in terms of being a versatile playmaker. But again, that is part of what is also the
04:08
attractive part of his game is that he is very good at that one role.
04:12
Now, anyone who remembers a Mecca book as a recruit jumping into his background,
04:17
he was actually a highly, a higher rated recruit than Marvin Harrison Jr.
04:21
Was in the 2021 class. And before he got banged up in 2023, there was a chance that he would
04:27
have been a first rounder in that draft class as well. He was the number one wide receiver
04:32
coming out of the state of Washington in 2021. And he was the second highest rated
04:37
recruit in the state of Washington. Also the ninth overall rated recruit in that class.
04:42
He was very highly decorated. He was very highly recognized. He goes on to be becoming the most
04:48
productive Ohio state receiver ever. So he lived up to the hype to that degree.
04:53
His career maybe wasn't as sexy as Marvin Harrison Jr., but he absolutely had lived
04:58
up to every expectation that we were hoping for. I mean, at the end of the day, he was the leading
05:03
receiver in Ohio state history, right? And there's a little bit of an asterisk because like
05:08
a lot of those guys end up leaving after three years, at least a decent amount of them do.
05:13
But overall, Joe, I mean, we're talking about a incredibly productive player who,
05:17
like you said, if not for that injury a couple of years ago, we're probably not even talking
05:21
about him in this class that actually helped him to be back for one more year for Ohio state in 2024
05:26
and eventually winning a national championship. But that, that class was pretty wild, man.
05:31
He was a five star, like you said, but there were a ton of five stars according to the 247
05:36
sports composite ranking. Quinn Ewers was the number one recruit in that Ohio state class.
05:41
You remember he reclassified and then went to Ohio state because he wanted to make some NIL
05:44
money, but that's a conversation for another day. JT Tomolau, Jack Sawyer, Donovan Jackson,
05:50
and then Emeka Igbuka also Travion Henderson was, was a five-star recruit in that class.
05:55
So pretty cool to look back on because that class was a huge reason why they just were able to get
06:01
over that hump finally and win a national championship. A lot of those guys stayed to
06:06
be seniors and be big parts of this team and be instrumental members of bringing Ohio state back
06:12
to a national championship, which is pretty cool to see. Yeah, his, his background and how he was
06:18
able to help Ohio state win a national championship was certainly amazing. Juju Smith Schuster is the
06:23
pro comp that we're going with here. Two big body guys that run great routes that have great
06:29
concentration in a contested situations. Both are going to be most successful in the slot.
06:36
I know that Juju has played a little bit of a different role since he's bounced around other
06:39
teams, but where I thought he was amazing was early on in his career at the Steelers,
06:43
where they were playing him a ton in the slot and he was getting a lot of those over the middle
06:47
opportunities to make plays. Yep. And I think that both players are more smooth than they are
06:52
explosive. They're just both not dynamic players, but I do think they're strong. They're densely
06:58
built and they're really consistent slot receivers. That was the cool thing about Juju early on in his
07:02
career was he would also make a ton of plays after the catch because he was a really strongly built
07:06
slot receiver. And I think that's one underrated aspect of Emeka Ibuka's game is that I think
07:11
Emeka is actually pretty good after the catch as well. So he's going to be able to make some plays
07:15
after the catch, some hidden yardage stuff. And I do think that that career arc could be
07:19
hopefully a little bit more consistent than what we've seen from Juju, but I do think that Emeka
07:24
has that power slot build and that frame and that physicality to be a consistent weapon to an offense.
07:31
Folks, let us know in the comments below, what team do you want to see Emeka Ibuka play for?
07:35
Hit that like button and subscribe. We'll talk to you later.
Recommended
12:56
|
Up next
Ranking The Top Wide Receiver Prospects In The 2025 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
4/17/2025
5:42
Is Carnell Tate the Next Ohio State WR Phenom? | 2026 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
6/2/2025
9:52
Ohio State QB Will Howard Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis
AtoZ Sports
3/24/2025
5:21
Ohio State TE Max Klare Scouting Report | 2026 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
6/11/2025
2:28
Wolchuk explains why Emeka Egbuka is his #2 WR in this draft
KRLD-FM / 105.3 The Fan
4/23/2025
7:54
Ohio State OT Josh Simmons Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis
AtoZ Sports
3/28/2025
7:17
Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis
AtoZ Sports
3/26/2025
5:51
Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis
AtoZ Sports
3/27/2025
2:01
Matt Patricia Joins Ohio State as Defensive Coordinator
SportsGrid
2/13/2025
7:17
The Reason Ohio State S Caleb Downs WON'T Be A Top 5 Pick
AtoZ Sports
5/18/2025
2:08
Oregon Ducks Pro Day: Projected First Round Pick Josh Conerly Jr Discusses NFL Draft
Oregon Ducks On SI
3/19/2025
0:26
Bill O'Brien Set to Leave New England Patriots for Ohio State
Sports Illustrated
1/19/2024
4:42
NFL Draft Prospect Joey Porter Jr. Joins SI Ahead Of NFL Draft
Sports Illustrated
4/26/2023
7:13
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe Has The HIGHEST Ceiling In The 2025 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
3/10/2025
7:58
Trey Lance Talks NFL Draft, the 49ers Rumors and Hobbies Outside of Football
Sports Illustrated
4/29/2021
7:12
Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan Has Some MAJOR Weaknesses
AtoZ Sports
2/26/2025
7:28
Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis
AtoZ Sports
3/25/2025
8:08
Penn State's Tyler Warren WILL BE A Top TE in the NFL | 2025 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
3/12/2025
8:22
Georgia LB Jalon Walker Is A True BOOM Or BUST Prospect | 2025 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
3/19/2025
0:25
Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud Declares for 2023 NFL Draft
Sports Illustrated
1/16/2023
5:30
The BIGGEST SLEEPERS in the 2025 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
4/22/2025
11:04
Auburn Linebacker Eugene Asante Discusses the Scouting Combine And His NFL Future
Athlon Sports
3/6/2025
1:00
Anthony Richardson Impresses at Combine With Record Performance
Sports Illustrated
3/4/2023
1:26
NDSU QB Trey Lance to Declare for 2021 NFL Draft
Sports Illustrated
10/7/2020
4:40
Clemson DT Peter Woods Scouting Report | 2026 NFL Draft
AtoZ Sports
6/11/2025