Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka returned from a Week 6 hamstring injury and played 53 of Tampa's 68 snaps in their Monday Night loss to the Lions. Egbuka led the team with 12 targets and ranked second with 58 receiving yards. Most importantly, Egbuka emerged from the game healthy and will be counted on to be Tampa's No. 1 WR after Mike Evans broke his collarbone. Evans is slated to miss significant time.
Egbuka was a surprise participant in practice on Saturday, which opened the door for him to play on Monday. However, the Bucs probably weren't planning to play their young star as much as they were forced to after Evans' injury.
Egbuka was only in on 11 of Tampa's first 19 snaps but stayed on the field full-time after Evans was injured with 5:09 remaining in the first half. In all, Egbuka led Tampa's receiving corps, playing 53 of the team's 68 snaps.
Tez Johnson was next with 48 snaps. Johnson had the same stat line as Egbuka, 4 grabs for 58 yards, but scored Tampa's only TD, a 22-yarder in the third quarter.
Sterling Shepard played 44 snaps and led the team with 7 receptions.
Evans exited after 14 snaps. Kameron Johnson (14 snaps) and Ryan Miller (9 snaps) also contributed.
Egbuka is now Tampa Bay's undisputed No. 1 WR and will likely move to the X spot.
Tez Johnson appears to be the No. 2, giving him weekly WR3/flex value.
Sterling Shepard should see a boost in slot reps and remains a weekly WR3/4. Shepard has quietly drawn 34 targets this season.
TE Cade Otton, who led the Bucs with 7 catches and 65 yards on Monday, will also see a more prominent role in Tampa's passing attack while Evans is out. View Otton as a high-end TE2 with weekly TE1 upside.
Tampa travels to New Orleans this week to face the 1-6 Saints before they have a bye in Week 9.
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