TAMPA — National fantasy football analysts are projecting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense as one of the NFL’s most productive units in 2026, driven by a returning offensive line and the breakout potential of second-year wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
On “The Ringer Fantasy Football Show” — ranked third in total downloads among fantasy football podcasts — all three hosts endorsed Egbuka as a top target for the upcoming season despite a toe injury that currently has him sidelined. The endorsement came during the show’s annual “Sleepers and Top Targets for 2026” episode, where a player must receive a unanimous “key turn” from hosts Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly and Craig Horlbeck to earn a full recommendation.
“I’m a key-turn on this,” said Kelly, the show’s resident NFL Draft expert. “I’m a big believer, I think, in this year’s Bucs offense because of the offensive line. I think their offensive line could be elite, and we’ve seen how that spills over into fantasy scoring so much. Like, think about some of the old days with the Cowboys’ offense, where everybody’s eating because the offensive line is just so f****** good. And I think they have the potential to do that if they can stay healthy.”
Kelly acknowledged the uncertainty around Egbuka’s foot but remained committed. “Obviously, the question is, is his foot hurt?” Kelly said. “We don’t really know. I guess, how hurt is it - we don’t really know at this point in time. So I’m still turning the key on Emeka Egbuka. I love him. I think he’s a really, really good player and he’s going to have a better role that suits his skillset this year than he did last year. I think Baker Mayfield’s going to be a lot better than he was last year. So I think we could see this team turn back into a really high-scoring sort-of fantasy juggernaut.”
Horlbeck went further, comparing Egbuka’s ceiling to the 2025 breakout of Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award after catching 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. “If he were to play Week One and he is healthy, I think he is one of the best bets to be the ‘JSN’ of this year, except he’s playing the Cooper Kupp role,” Horlbeck said. “I think him on Tampa Bay in this new offense under Zac Robinson with a healthy Baker Mayfield, he has the chance to truly be a defining character in fantasy this year. You look at what he did in the first five weeks of last year as a rookie where it was like all-time numbers. It was like Randy Moss and then Emeka Egbuka, how good he was in the first five weeks of the season. Mike Evans is gone.”
The Buccaneers enter 2026 expecting all five starters from their dominant 2024 offensive line to be ready for Week One. Egbuka’s availability for the season opener will be the key variable as Tampa Bay looks to validate the national hype surrounding its retooled offense under head coach Zac Robinson.