Emeka Egbuka is Not Another Diva Wide Receiver | Steelers Draft Profile
INDIANAPOLIS — The notion of the diva wide receiver is so common as to be a stereotype. They’re mad if they don’t get the ball, hot-headed, prone to making headlines just as often for what they say or do off the field as for what they do on it. Then there’s Emeka Egbuka.
The Ohio State product is a likely first-round pick at wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s been a star player on one of the highest-profile college football teams in the country for four years. He’s played in two Rose Bowls, two College Football Playoffs and just won a national championship.
But Egbuka is not that type of wide receiver. Even as a young player, on a team full of superstars, Egbuka established himself as a leader. Despite his talent, he’s always been overshadowed by other players at Ohio State. Even in his senior season, he willingly moved aside to share the spotlight with freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith.
In many ways, Egbuka is the opposite of the diva wide receiver trope.
“It definitely comes from my roots and the way my parents raised me,” he said at the 2025 NFL Combine. “My father, just having high character and high integrity, being from Nigeria, emigrating to the states when he was my age, and just my mother, all the values she’s placed in me and the way that she loved me growing up, I just want to do everything to make them proud. All shout out to my parents for the way they raised me, honestly.”
Egbuka didn’t have to be back at Ohio State in 2025, at all. He could have entered the draft after his junior year. He certainly could have found a place in the transfer portal that would have made him the singular focus of their offense. Instead, he was focused on building what he’d started at Ohio State, on and off the field.
“The biggest attribute I was looking to refine in my senior season was my faith in God,” Egbuka said. “That comes first and foremost before anything on the field. That was the leading factor in deciding to return for my senior year to Ohio State. I spent a lot of time in prayer. I felt like he was leading me back to Ohio State for something bigger than football.
“Obviously we were able to win a national championship which was amazing and a dream come true for me and something I’ll never forget. But as players we had amazing moments where we were able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and secure our faith in Him. We had experienced a bit of a revival on campus. There were people getting baptized left and right. We were able to share our testimonies and it was a beautiful thing to be a part of.”
That’s the farthest thing from another diva receiver.
EMEKA EGBUKA SCOUTING REPORT
The game’s latest power-slot prototype who brings championship pedigree with him to the pros. Egbuka is a smooth and efficient mover and the ultimate teammate, evidenced how quarterback friendly he is in the intermediate area of the field and through his effort as a blocker. It’s true that he’s a more of a jack of all trades but master of none, but you know exactly what you’re getting from day one: a smart, tough player who contributes to winning. — Derrick Bell
EMEKA EGBUKA COLLEGE STATS
| Year – Tear | GP | Rec | Yds | TD | Rush | Yds | TD |
| 2024 – Ohio State | 16 | 81 | 1011 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 0 |
| 2023 – Ohio State | 10 | 41 | 515 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 0 |
| 2022 – Ohio State | 13 | 74 | 1151 | 10 | 11 | 87 | 2 |
| 2021 – Ohio State | 10 | 9 | 191 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TALE OF THE TAPE
Tested at Ohio State pro day: 4.49-second 40-yard dash, 1.57-second 10-yard split, 4.15-second shuttle, 38-inch vertical
Measured at the NFL Combine: 6-foot 7/8, 202 pounds, 9 5/8-inch hands, 31 1/2-inch arms, 76 5/8-inch wingspan
Listed by Ohio State: 6-foot-1, 205 pounds
RAS: 9.35
WHERE WILL EMEKA EGBUKA BE DRAFTED?
Once an apparent lock as a first-round pick, Emeka Egbuka has seen his stock slide over the last month of the pre-draft process, despite putting up fairly good times at the Ohio State pro day in late March. If he makes it into the second round, it won’t be far. His lowest position on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board is his current one as of April 20: No. 33 overall.
FILM ROOM
ODDS AND ENDS
Attended Steliacoom (Wash.) High School. He will become the school’s second NFL alumnus, following former Chicago Bears lineman Cody Balogh. … Egbuka’s uncle, Ron Fredrick, is the mayor of nearby DuPont, Washington.
