The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are thin at wide receiver right now. Chris Godwin won’t return until at least a month into the season and then Jalen McMillan suffered a neck injury that puts his 2025 season in jeopardy as well. Good thing they landed Ohio State star Emeka Egbuka in the 2025 NFL Draft this year to pair with Mike Evans.
But with a thin receiver room right now, it opens the opportunity for a fringe roster candidate to make enough of an impression to not just make the roster, but stick around as a key piece of the offense moving forward. The Bucs may not need all three of these receivers to be impact players. The more options they have, however, the better off they’ll be in making sure Baker Mayfield still makes this offense flow.
Sterling Shepard
This is less about Sterling Shepard making the squad, though he’s a few injuries away from possibly being cut. This is about Shepard showing he’s still talented enough to impact this offense. He’s had a lowkey NFL career and hasn’t really risen to stardom we thought he would when the New York Giants drafted him.
In his lone season in Tampa Bay last season, he had less than 400 receiving yards. His best season in the NFL was his third season when he eclipsed 800 receiving yards. The Bucs don’t need him to be an elite receiver, that’s what Mike Evans is for. They just need him to be a solid secondary option.
Egbuka’s job is more secure than ever and with Godwin’s injury, is probably the No. 2 receiver in this offense right now. Shepard could complement an Evans-Egbuka tandem well and keep this offense afloat as they get healthy.
Tez Johnson
Tez Johnson is the wild card in this receiver room. He’s a rookie that saw his draft stock dip after the NFL scouting combine. But this couldn’t be a better opportunity for him to prove he deserves to be in the NFL. The Bucs run a high-powered offense predicated on passing and utilizing multiple weapons. Johnson could be an interim option while the receiver room gets healthy.
If he does enough to make the roster and eventually find a role in this offense, that could go a long way to him carving out a nice career. The Bucs need one of Johnson or Shepard to step up. Johnson feels like the obvious choice because he’s younger and has some potential.
The opportunities will be there, he just has to take advantage of them. If he doesn’t it not only will cost him a job in Tampa Bay, but a job in the NFL as a whole.
Ryan Miller
Like Tez Johnson, Ryan Miller is in a similar position. He’s the type of player that could carve out a solid role in this offense. Mayfield will find a way to get him the ball, he just has to be available and make the play. He played in 11 games last year and the Bucs seemingly pushed him out after drafting Egbuka.
Injuries will likely keep him in contention for a roster spot and a chance to make a bigger impact. I think Shepard could be the odd man out with the younger options in Johnson and Miller. Are either of them good enough to take Shepard’s spot? Probably not. That’s not to say if all three make the 53-man roster, they will finish the season in Tampa Bay.
Miller is on the outs, but injuries are keeping his spot warm for now. Now he has to prove he can make an impact. The last thing this team needs is Egbuka trying to break through as a rookie while Evans is the only producer. To start this season, the Bucs will be a receiver-by-committee type team. That can work as long as when players are called upon, they make the most of it.
These three players have every reason to prove between now, through roster cuts and the first few weeks of the season, that Tampa Bay could have a deep receiver room.