Baker Mayfield makes his thoughts known on Emeka Egbuka ahead of rookie's Bucs debut

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is ecstatic that the team drafted Emeka Egbuka in the first round.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers are coming off a disappointing playoff exit and are looking to build off that in 2025. In the offseason, the Bucs used their first-round pick on Egbuka, a wide receiver out of Ohio State.

Egbuka gives Mayfield another weapon and makes Tampa Bay's offense that much more dangerous. Ahead of the NFL season, Mayfield has high praise for Egbuka and how he fits into Tampa Bay's offense.

"Right now, I think we could plug-and-play (Emeka Egbuka) at any receiver spot,: Mayfield said.

It's high praise from Mayfield, who expects Egbuka to have a ton of success in the Buccaneers' offense. The rookie receiver joins the receiver room that features the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Trey Palmer, and Jalen McMillan, among others.

At Ohio State last season, Egbuka recorded 81 receptions for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was also a key reason why the Buckeyes won the national title last season.

Baker Mayfield wants the Buccaneers offense to have more explosive plays

Entering the 2025 NFL season, the goal for Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is to be more explosive.

Mayfield wants the Buccaneers offense to have more big plays, which will help the offense put up more points.

"We're trying to get some more explosive [plays] in," Mayfield said, via NFL.com. "Obviously, when you look at the stats -- I'm not a big stats guy -- but we weren't as much down-the-field explosive. We were creating a lot of open, in the middle, and guys getting some YAC."

Mayfield says he isn't afraid to throw the deep ball to try and make something happen. However, last season, Mayfield and the Buccaneers finished 29th in the NFL in air yards per throw at just 6.8. The team attempted 20-plus-yard passes on 7.5% of their attempts, ranking 28th in the NFL.

"This is the time of year we're working on it. Obviously, you would love to have more down-the-field shots, but any completion is a good one," Mayfield added.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers will continue to work on it in training camp and in preseason games ahead of the 2025 NFL season.

Tampa Bay opens its season on Sept. 7 on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.