Baker Mayfield said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the depth and versatility to absorb Mike Evans’ departure, identifying Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan as key pieces of the wide receiver room. Mayfield discussed the group on the “4th and South” podcast, hosted by Leonard Fournette and Jarvis Landry, while Tristan Wirfs compared Mayfield’s competitive nature with Tom Brady.
Mayfield said Godwin was looking like his previous form during training camp and called Egbuka a standout after the Buccaneers asked him to do too much during his previous season. He also described McMillan as one of the team’s best receivers in one-on-one separation.
McMillan missed most of the 2025 season after suffering a neck injury during a preseason game against the Steelers. He was later sidelined for several practices because of lower body soreness, according to the source.
Mayfield assesses Tampa Bay’s receiver room
Mayfield said Evans cannot be replaced, but he believes Tampa Bay’s receiver room is suited to absorb the loss. He also identified Tez Johnson, Ted Hurst, David Sills and other skill-position players as contributors who can give the offense additional flexibility.
“You cannot replace [Evans] and it sounds messed up because he will be a Hall of Fame receiver, but of all the positions to lose a guy like that, our receiver room was kind of made for it,” said Baker Mayfield. “I mean Chris is back looking like true CG and looking really, really good. Emeka is a stud and we asked him to do too much last year, like we took advantage of how smart he is just to try and move him around and what not, so he is going to take a big step. Then Jalen McMillan, who has been hurt and got hurt during the preseason last year, but he is probably our best one-on-one receiver separation-wise, juice, so we have three really good guys and then you have young guys like Tez Johnson that played a lot last year and Ted Hurst in the draft and David Sills, a guy that has played a lot of football and knows the system and came over with Z-Rob [Zac Robinson]. Then the other skill guys so to lose Mike stinks, but when you have a room full of guys who have the capability and potential to move around and do different things, that is how you make up for it.”
Tristan Wirfs compares Mayfield with Tom Brady
Wirfs said Mayfield and Brady share an intense competitive drive. He described Mayfield as a quarterback who can put the team on his back and rally teammates when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go to war.
“Tom is uber competitive and Baker is uber competitive,” described Tristan Wirfs. “It is just, Bake is going to put the team on his back like, ‘let’s f-ing go. We are going to go to war,’ and you are like, ‘Yeah, I am in.’ That is how it was with Tom.”
David Walker, Rueben Bain Jr. and Ted Hurst III stand out at camp
David Walker, Rueben Bain Jr. and Ted Hurst III were identified as standout players during Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp. Walker recorded a would-be sack in every camp practice referenced in the source and had multiple would-be sacks during a practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
Ted Hurst III made a notable catch on a go route during a Wednesday practice and was described as developing a role in Zac Robinson’s offense. The practice developments added to the discussion surrounding Tampa Bay’s young contributors.
Source: Original report