New England Patriots Julian Edelman says Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is his sleeper pick for the 2025 NFL season. (Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
Variety via Getty Images
Julian Edelman was known as a “PPR king” during his career with the New England Patriots, ranking in the top eight in receptions on four different occasions while posting at least 100 catches in two different seasons.
Now he’s giving some advice on who fantasy football players should target and hone in on in their leagues – Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka made an impact immediately in his first game, catching four passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Buccaneers to a win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The first-round draft pick had the game-winning touchdown catch with 59 seconds remaining.
“I don’t think it’s a sleeper pick anymore, but I’ll give you one that I thought of last week – Emeka Egbuka,” says Edelman in a one-on-one interview. ”If you have a dynasty league, you got to get that guy and let him just ride you to the championship.”
Also benefiting Egbuka is the fact that he’s clearly one of the top two offensive options on a high-powered offensive unit alongside Mike Evans. That’s because Chris Godwin remains sidelined since Week 7 of last season due to ankle injuries and will not be because until Week 5 at the earliest.
“Having a guy on a team in the Buccaneers with Baker Mayfield, who knows how to throw it with Mike Evans, who is going to attract all the coverage,” says Edelman. “Godwin hasn’t even been in the system yet. Once he gets there, that’s going to help Emeka, because everyone knows who Godwin and Evans are. They don’t necessarily know Emeka yet. He’s had a loud Week 1, but I think he’s going to be a really good football player.”
Julian Edelman Believes Emeka Egubka Will Still Produce Once Chris Godwin Is Back In Lineup
Egbuka was arguably the best wide receiver in college football last season, helping lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a national championship. The 6-foot-1 wide receiver caught 81 passes for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
He showed off his playmaking ability immediately in his Bucs debut and may just continue getting better as the season wears on.
Even when Godwin returns to the lineup, Edelman still expects the Buckeyes alum to eat in the Buckeyes’ high-powered offense.
“It’s kind of like a snowball in the NFL in the quarterback-receiver relationship,” explains Edelman. “If that snowball stays the same size, the quarterback picks that snowball and throws it. If Emeka Egbuka keeps getting bigger and bigger because of the production he shows throughout the time that he has and the opportunity he has before Godwin’s there, I don’t think if he’s got four touchdowns and 36 catches, you just forget that kind of guy. The snowball gets too big to throw to, so you just let it keep going down that mountain and collecting more stats.”
Considering the Buccaneers have a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Baker Mayfield who ranked second in the league last season with 41 touchdown passes, the sky is the limit for Egbuka, who may emerge as one of the top receivers in fantasy in his very first season.
Although Edelman is a former wide receiver, he doesn’t necessarily go wideout with his first pick – he goes with the best player available. The Patriots great says he finished second in his fantasy league last season and says there’s a “a lot of factors” to who you go with when it comes to your first pick.
“I go with best player on board,” says Edelman when it comes to his first pick. “There’s, a lot of factors. If this guy is coming off a huge year last year at running back who had 385 carries, and we know after like 420 (carries) this guy’s probably going to get banged up and miss a couple games. Is it that guy or am I going after the guy who got 800 yards in his second year who is going to be a huge part of the offense a la Jaylen Warren over in Pittsburgh, he’s going to be a big part of that. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into this.”
Julian Edelman Takes On New Role As ‘Fantasy Guru’ With Unisom
Coincidentally enough, the former Super Bowl MVP is taking on a new role as the “fantasy guru” for Unisom, which is known for their over-the-counter sleep aids.
Edelman is helping fans get rid of sleepless nights by not only encouraging them to take the sleep-aid, but also by giving his weekly picks to help people make smarter lineup decisions.
“I feel like I had a little expertise in trying to find those sleeper type of guys, those sleeper type of picks, and then Unisom being the No. 1 pharmacist and doctor-recommended over the counter sleep aid helps provide people with sleep,” Edelman says. “I saw this crazy stat that four out of five fantasy football owners have sleepless nights because of their fantasy team.
“I basically said, ‘Let’s do this,’” Edelman continues to say. “I know sleep is very important. It was a huge part of my recovery during my career, post career, for my new career, for anything. sleep is like the No. 1 thing. Why don’t I give these fantasy football owners sleeper picks, and you provide the sleep aid, UNISOM, and we do something cool? I give sleeper picks once a week on my social, UNISOM’s social, and you guys provide the stuff. It was a slam dunk.”