Welcome Versatile Receiver Jalen McMillan

April 26th, 2024

More competition and hopefully more juice has arrived in the Bucs receivers room.

Joe’s extra excited because general manager Jason Licht has had such great success with drafted receivers.

Tampa Bay picked University of Washington receiver Jalen McMillan as their second selection in Round 3 tonight, with the pick acquired in the Carlton Davis trade back in March.

At 6-1, 197 pounds, McMillan isn’t the biggest dude, but he’s definitely athletic with a 37-inch vertical leap and 4.47-second speed in the 40 yard dash.

He missed time last season with a knee injury but appeared in 11 games with 45 catches for 559 yards and 5 touchdowns. His 2022 season was far more productive with 1,098 yards receiving on 79 catches.

So where does he fit in the Bucs offense?

Joe’s not sure. McMillan is a versatile guy and is known as a very willing blocker. He’s not considered to have much quick-twitch kind of speed needed by receivers in tight space.

All the scouting chatter is just that, however. The Bucs will really see what they have when he’s running route after route in spring practices.

20 Responses to “Welcome Versatile Receiver Jalen McMillan”

  1. All_da_way Says:

    Low key this is going to be a sneaky good offense with the weapons the Bucs have. Still need to add a dynamic RB that can make tacklers miss.

  2. Bucco Bruce Says:

    Why is Troy Franklin falling so far? All before the draft all I could hear was he was late rd 1 talent.

  3. Dewey Selmon Says:

    All the remaining RB’s will be gone by the time we pick tomm. I would have taken a RB and took my chances of getting a WR tomm.

  4. firethecannons Says:

    this came from 247 sports, “Has great size and length with elite speed. Two-sport star (also a D-I baseball prospect), easily gets separation from opponents. Has tremendous body control and a huge catch radius. Quick release off the line, ability to go up and get the ball. Difficult to jam at the line of scrimmage. Needs to add some weight for when drawing bigger, physical corners. Projects as immediate Power 5 starter and projects and first-day NFL draft pick.”

  5. Bucs Since 76 Says:

    I thought we were going to do something significant at RB. The Bucs just can’t pull the trigger. Here comes the bottom 1/3 in rushing again.

  6. All_da_way Says:

    Unfortunately you may be right. But if the Bucs want to take a RB that can evade tackles it has to be the 4th round. Or else you end up in a McNichols situation all over again if there is a run on RBs in round 4 and 5. And the Bucs next pick isn’t till the 6th round.

  7. Polkfan Says:

    Silky route runner that can play inside/out, fits the godwin mold I love it. Instant upgrade over what we had behind Evans & Godwin.

  8. David Says:

    Not sure what they go after next. I know people want a running back, but I really think Tucker is going to surprise people, along with Whites improvement.

    Most of the “best available“ lists show a ton of DBs and WRs.

    What stood out to me was Jeremiah Trotter Jr, sideline to sideline fast linebacker out of Clemson.

  9. Toad Bowels Says:

    This is a great year for WRs so he might have been a 2nd round pick in a lean WR year. Should make the team as a 4th or 5 th WR. I wonder if he can return punts and kicks.

    Like Braswell, he was stuck behind 2 other top players at his position at a strong college program. A bit of a project but was 90 players off the board.

    I’m glad Light showed restraint and didn’t blow one of the third round picks to trade up in round 1 or 2.

  10. Buccaneer rick Says:

    Stop with the rb drama we couldn’t run the last 2 years because of the line if u noticed any good runs it was because the line won 1 time now we fixing it if we don’t get no production this year with a better line then drama for a rb should start again RW1 will take off this year said it o joesbucsfan 1st

  11. Bucfan1988 Says:

    We’ll get that RB in round 4……
    I’m guessing Ray Davis is the target or Estime??

    Probably try to snag TE in 6th and BPA in 7th

  12. Booger Says:

    Him getting hurt is what really opened the door for Polk in the first place. If fully healthy and recovered, I can see him stepping right in there at #3 while not skipping a beat. He seemed a little ‘faster’ to me on the field in pads, but that also could’ve been before his injury, too… To me anyway, I thought he was their best Receiver, the year before last. I liked him.

  13. LouisFriend Says:

    You ‘we’re ruined because we didn’t draft a RB’ are a bunch of whiners. If the Bucs have the hogs to open the road then even your grandmas could get 4 yards a carry. This isn’t a difficult thing to think about.

    The Broncos, Cowboys, Redskins, 49ers and so many others in their best eras had OL that could MOVE people. The Bucs decided to address that first.

    You can’t get it all in one draft. It doesn’t work that way. But maybe, just maybe the OL will be able to get effective double team blocks going to give who they have openings to the 2nd level. The Rams approach to running that Coen brings with him tells the back where the hole to run through is. The RB doesn’t have to think, he has to do. It’s up to the line to make that work out.

    If you want to learn a little about the nuances check out an article on duo-blocking – Bucs OL will be doing a heck of a lot of that this season.

  14. No Mercy Says:

    Bucs have a trend of finding talented players who are stuck behind better talent. That’s how they found Shaq Barrett. Chris braswell stick behind Dallas Turner and Will Anderson jr, but looks very talented. Now this guy who was overshadowed by Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk. I love the hidden gems philosophy

  15. adam from ny Says:

    i was hawking the pics all 2nd and 3rd round to see if franklin would fall to us…

    then he does…and we didn’t scoop him up…

    he’s still out there free falling…give that man a parachute !

  16. adam from ny Says:

    ok i’m gonna make another sean payton guarantee…

    just like i mentioned with bo nix going to denver, if he’s still on the board with the broncos pic in the 4th – he won’t get past payton…

    payton will pair him up with bo nix…he’ll never get past payton in the 4th round

  17. adam from ny Says:

    actualy i just checked the 4th round draft order…broncos pick 21st…

    yeah no way is he’s even going to reach payton and denver…unless they trade up…

    we pick a few picks after denver…heck if he’s out there around the middle of the 4th round, i’d even trade up and grab him too

  18. Scott Says:

    A WR nobody would have guessed. Who would have thought?

  19. Scottiebudseed Says:

    Would’ve liked Payton Wilson, but I’m nota gm and trust Mr. LICHT

  20. orlbucfan Says:

    ME13 will retire soon. Godwin has a SB ring and he’s approaching his prime. He can do anything, and teams will jump at him like bees to honey. I trust Lights-Out Licht, and Bowles. The draft is still on-going, and the UDFAs haven’t been mentioned yet. My coin is on Licht.