Draft Profile: Emeka Egbuka
Wide Receiver, Ohio State
6’1″, 205 lbs
Projected mid-to-late first round
Outside of George Pickens, the Pittsburgh Steelers do have talent at the wide receiver position. If you are looking for a number four wide receiver, we got plenty of ‘em! Fans spent a lot of days waiting for social media updates to see who the big free agent pick up would be after trading away Diontae Johnson. Are we getting DK Metcalf? How about Courtland Sutton? Tyler Boyd? Christian Kirk? Oh it’s Brandon Aiyuk! No, no, no, and nope. They finally ended up getting Mike Williams- and then not really using him.
My stance on addressing the wide receiver position in free agency is that most likely you’re going to have to overpay, so don’t do it. This is something you don’t even consider when you have no idea who your quarterback will be. In other words, your first need is to get a signal caller in place that can actually throw the ball consistently. Would you put a Hemi in a riding mower? No so you don’t need to spend $100 million on a wide receiver when you have no one to throw the ball to him. Yes, you could make the case for it working with Sam Darnold in Minnesota since an elite receiver and a great number two in Jefferson and Addison greatly upped his game. But our offensive gameplan is developed by Arthur “Toss” Smith. So what do you do about it? You draft Emeka Egbuka.
For now George Pickens is the Steelers number one wideout. He can beat defensive backs in a lot of different ways. He can win contested catches. He can beat man coverage. He can drop kick a defender that’s not even in the play on an interception. But who is the consistent, dependable, move the chains guys on the field? Currently no one. Egbuka gives you that.
Strengths:
Egbuka tracks the ball in the air very well and has great hands. If you watch highlights of his you’ll quickly notice that he his ability to make catches in traffic is elite- which it has had to be. More on that later. This bails his quarterback out on some poorly thrown balls. He sells his “misroutes”, has a great head fake, and is a savvy route runner. He finds soft spots in zone coverage and when his QB is on the move, he improvises to make himself a target. He is a willing and capable blocker- not Hines Ward violent but the effort is definitely there. He has a high football IQ, is a good teammate, hard worker and is not a diva. A wide receiver not a diva? Is that even possible?
Weaknesses:
Top end speed and ability to get separation from NFL corners is a question mark right now. As I mentioned previously his ability to make catches in traffic is fantastic; this comes up in his highlights because he seems to usually be pretty tightly covered. Was this his issue, or his quarterback underthrowing a lot of passes? Egbuka doesn’t appear to be a burner- he’s not going to beat defenders with pure speed and relies on his route running ability. He is also not a 50/50 guy that will make catches over bigger corners. While he played outside some at Ohio State, he seems to perform better from the slot. He does fight for extra yards but is not a YAC monster.
How he fits:
In my opinion, Egbuka is a perfect fit for what the Steelers need. He’s the Yang to Pickens’ Yin. He’s dependable, has great hands, and doesn’t need to be the guy in the spotlight. He’ll move the chains so when we go run up the middle on first down for a minimal gain, toss play on second down for a minimal gain (or loss), we’ll have another option besides “moooon ball”! He’s a QB’s best friend because he’ll track the ball and get it even when the ball is thrown poorly. Running backs will love him because he’ll block downfield. The Steelers also need more locker room guys that see the big picture and are not me-first players. Furthermore, we have no clue what we have in Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin also has injury concerns.
Player Comp:
There are a lot of comparisons between Egbuka and Amon-Ra St. Brown and I can see the similarities there. However, I’d like to go back a little further in time (I’m old) for my comp. Victor Cruz was a slot receiver for the New York Giants who played alongside Odell Beckham Jr. when he was in his prime. He’s not a name that comes up in conversation often, but he was a very reliable target for Eli Manning and a really good player I his own right. Cruz has a very similar height/weight/speed makeup to Egbuka, and I don’t recall any instances of him being a diva or surrounded with any drama. Egbuka has the potential to be an even better player but playing at Cruz’ level for this team would be welcomed.
The Defensive Line class this year is deep and there are players to be had in later rounds. So for me addressing the wide receiver position early is imperative. If Burden, Golden, and Egbuka are all on the board at the Steelers’ selection I’m still selecting Egbuka because of fit and intangibles. If he was there at the 21st pick, I’m pulling the trigger and not looking back. Now we just figure out who’s throwing him the ball.
Photo courtesy Cleveland.com
