Bucs OC Zac Robinson Has A “Great Problem” To Deal With

The Bucs offense is looking to get back on track and back to being a top 5 scoring attack. The parallels to what offensive coordinator Liam Coen did in 2024 will continue with offensive coordinator Zac Robinson taking over in 2026. With both having roots in Sean McVay’s Rams offense before receiving respective promotions, how Robinson builds out his system and utilizes personnel will not only draw comparisons but also come with the expectation of points.

A lot of them.

Fans will want to see the cannons fire and the scoreboard at Raymond James Stadium steadily increase as the home team orchestrates 30-point performances, such as was commonplace not too long ago. Right now, though, Robinson is in the experimenting and problem-solving phase of the offseason.

That was something he shared on Tuesday morning, among his many insightful remarks about how things are coming together with all the talent at his disposal and how the team’s deep wide receiver room will be utilized.

Zac Robinson Has To Find A Way To Get The Ball To All The Bucs’ Weapons

Knowing that the Bucs offense was a highly successful group in 2024 provides plenty of optimism that it can get back to its previous heights. What works in Tampa Bay’s favor is the fact the many of the same players remain. Wide receiver Mike Evans is no longer in the fold, nor is running back Rachaad White. Otherwise, all the key pieces are there, with some newcomers working into the mix.

Specifically looking at the wide receiver room, Zac Robinson realizes he has a problem on his hands.

With Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan all proving worthy of a large target share, distributing the football to them properly will be emphasized during the weekly gameplans Robinson draws up. Not only is there a talented trio of wideouts, but it extends deeper with Ted Hurst, Tez Johnson, and the tight ends and running backs that will need to get involved, too.

“It’s a great question,” Robinson said about how the football will be distributed evenly. “I think it’s a great problem to have. Sometimes an offense can go through one guy, or one or two guys. The more that you can spread the football around, get other guys involved, and keep those guys on the other side of the football off a little bit, that’s definitely a huge advantage. We have a ton of guys — from a tight end standpoint, a receiver standpoint, and a running back standpoint — that can do a number of different things.

“It’s our job as coaches to make sure we’re dishing the ball around, and if there’s a hot hand, we got to go to the hot hand, too. Not losing sight of some of those things that naturally happen throughout the course of a game but it’s a fun group of guys to be around and work with because the versatility of the whole entire group is pretty cool.”

Godwin, Egbuka, and McMillan each have a case to be No. 1 wide receivers on this team, and they would be in other NFL offenses. Hurst and Johnson have the talent to be featured more prominently, and that is a quintet of talented wide receivers most play-callers envy.

Ensuring they get the ball enough is one thing, but the tight end and running back positions cannot be neglected, either.

With Robinson utilizing 12 personnel sets at the second-highest rate last season and with Kyle Pitts having a big year in Atlanta, he will want to get Cade Otton and the backup tight ends additional targets in the passing game. That will also be the case for Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell, who each are talented pass-catchers out of the backfield.

Those are a lot of hands to feed, but it is encouraging to hear that the hot hand will be fed. That will lead to a more efficient passing attack not predicated on force-feeding the ball to a star wide receiver. It also helps that there is no ego on offense, with everyone wanting to do their part.

The Bucs Are Deep At Wide Receiver, How Will Zac Robinson Utilize Them?

With that being said, what did Zac Robinson have to say about each wide receiver individually? There were a lot of questions about Ted Hurst, the third-round pick who was one of the standouts during rookie mini-camp. At 6-foot-4 with a 4.42 40-yard time, Hurst offers a unique blend of size and speed compared to the rest of the room. That does not mean he will get a starting workload immediately, but it does give him the best case to the X receiver on the outside.

“Having a true X is a weapon as an offense,” Robinson said. “Knowing that if that guy is a real threat on the backside, then you can dictate some certain coverages certain ways. That is an absolute threat… having a true X is a luxury. We’ve seen it both ways though where we didn’t have a true X and all three receivers can play all three spots, which is also tough on a defense because guys can line up everywhere.

“That’s where you see the flexibility of J-Mac [Jalen McMillan], Mek [Emeka Egbuka], and CG [Chris Godwin Jr.]. Those guys can line up everywhere, and there’s really no true X, no true F, and no true Z, but you have a bunch of versatility from a pretty cool skill group.”

After seeing how Tampa Bay unlocked its offense for years with a true X in Mike Evans and seeing how Odell Beckham Jr. fit that role for the Rams while he was there during their Super Bowl-winning season in 2021, Robinson will find ways to get Hurst out there in different packages.

“We’ll see where he can get to, but he has shown on tape that he can run by players, make contested catches down the field,” Robinson added. “He’s got great ball skills down the field and he can track it. All those things, then you mentioned the body size… that’s a huge asset to have. If he can get to a point where we can package some stuff up for him, that would be outstanding. We’ll see kind of where he can progress to and I definitely hope he can help us out.”

Going from the rookie to the veteran, Robinson also spoke about how Chris Godwin Jr. fits in his scheme. While much of the focus is on the youth in the room, one cannot forget the impact a healthy Godwin brings to an offense, even as he enters Year 10.

“He’s right in the thick of it,” Robinson said. “Chris is – just first off – his style of play and way that he plays the game of football is exactly what he wants to exemplify as an offense. Showed some of those clips early on in the offseason of just the toughness that he plays with, the energy that he brings on a snap-in, snap-out basis. That stuff overrides any sort of scheme and anything that you get into. Love the way that Chris plays the game.

“You go back and you watch when he came back last season and just how much he progressed; you’re seeing him run after catch and doing the things he’s always done at a really high level. You watch the ’24 stuff, and there was really no receiver playing better than him in the entire league before he got hurt. Chris looks great out there right now… Huge expectations for him, on the field as a player, but in the locker room as a leader. Guys look to him at all times, just the way that he approaches the game and his style of play.”

Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka are the other wide receivers looking to stake a claim and make an impact. With McMillan and Egbuka having a full offseason to rest and receiver, each is primed to make the most of their chances in 2026. While Robinson did not discuss McMillan individually on Tuesday, head coach Todd Bowles spoke highly of him at the NFL Annual Meeting back in late March.

When asked to share how he sees Egbuka growing in his second season, he outlined his role and made a lofty comparison.

“We’ll settle him into one spot, kind of our Z spot,” Robinson said. “Again, in some instances, he might look like he’s playing the X or the F, based on the formation and how you can move him around. Mek’s – just getting to know him the last handful of weeks – it’s incredible. I keep throwing around the word intentional, but that is him to a tee. The amount of work and preparation that he puts into it, he’s very similar to a Cooper Kupp just in terms of the way that his brain works with the game of football and natural instincts.

“He doesn’t have to change a thing, I think he’s come back, he’s refreshed. He played a ton of snaps; he obviously played a lot of college football leading into that season. I think Mek’s just going to take huge, huge strides. He’s getting to know the new terminology and asking great questions, but Mek’s just got to be Mek and do his thing, and he’ll be just fine.”

Zac Robinson provided plenty of noteworthy comments about the Bucs wide receiver room. How things continue to come together is something worth watching over the next few months. Expect the ball to be distributed to all of them, and for the offense to be better for it.