Ben Solak: Buy Stock In Jalen McMillan
July 9th, 2026
Time to fly.
One reason the Bucs, though distraught, haven’t (yet) checked into mental rehab over Mike Evans bolting so he could take a pay cut and pay much more in state taxes is because of what the Bucs have on the roster.
Sure, the Bucs (finally) have a healthy Chris Godwin. That helps. And the Bucs have Emeka Egbuka, who showed major flashes last year that he could be him. But it is a guy who was cheap-shotted by a piece of Steelers camp meat that, as a result, a lot of folks forgot about. And that’s Jalen McMillan.
As a rookie in 2024, he finished the season strong scoring seven touchdowns in the final five games of the regular season. Then last year in a worthless preseason game, McMillan was undercut and landed on his head.
He missed the first 13 games with broken neck vertebrae. When he did return against the Dixie Chicks on Thursday Night Football, his first catch was a 20-yard grab at the goal line when he took a vicious shot. His neck proved to be fine.
Ben Solak of ESPN hasn’t forgotten how McMillan and believes McMillan will pick right up and continue his progress.
I have not been shy about my lofty expectations for second-year wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who I think can lead the league in receptions with coordinator Zac Robinson now calling the plays. But Egbuka was splitting No. 3 receiver snaps last season with McMillan, who is an impressive receiver in his own right.
McMillan, like Egbuka, saw most of his rookie season limited by hamstring issues. And McMillan’s 2025 sophomore season was also almost nonexistent because of a preseason neck injury.
If McMillan can stay on the field, he is the best candidate for outside receiver snaps. And he has the large radius and spectacular catch ability that the Bucs need following the departure of Mike Evans. Chris Godwin Jr. won’t fall out of the lineup entirely — he’s too reliable — but McMillan brings enough juice as a run blocker to eat into those snaps, too.
If McMillan can take that next proverbial step from his rookie year — let’s be real, last year was a wash for him — then the thought of a top-shelf McMillan alongside Godwin and Egbuka has Joe salivating.
And in the background rookie Ted Hurst will be lying in the weeds ready to pounce on an opportunity.
Joe can understand why Bucs types have snapped out of their fetal position after the Evans escape.
July 9th, 2026 at 7:18 am
Tez might surprise us even more this year.
July 9th, 2026 at 7:22 am
I think we’ll be fine in the WR room. While nobody can predict the future, it seemed like M Evans body was regularly breaking down, so I’d put money on the Under when it comes to his production this year.
Thank you for your services, now please take home 1 Dollar for every 3 you make!
July 9th, 2026 at 7:42 am
TBBF has been saying that JMac is the WR to watch…..big star potential
July 9th, 2026 at 7:47 am
We’re gonna be just fine without Old Man Evan’s and his feeble hamstrings and ridiculous hairline.
July 9th, 2026 at 8:06 am
I didn’t think ME was a me player until 2024. It was great to see him get his 1000 yards at the end of the last game, the team & coaches forced it to him, and everyone celebrated with him. Then last year he openly talked about the importance of his streak when asked, which I thought was a bit off character. In previous years he would deflect and talk about the team instead. He definitely saw the WR stockpile at One Buc as a threat to his touches. And knowing CG was going to be healthier he decided to head to SF in search of targets. It’s all about stat padding and nothing to do about Baker vs Brock, TB vs SF nor any hidden mysterious theory. But that won’t stop the Joes from turning over rocks. Perhaps someday they’ll find that elusive crawdaddy.
July 9th, 2026 at 8:10 am
Jmac and Tez will surprise this year…imo, they both have that DAWG in them…should be fun to watch
GO BUCS!!!!
July 9th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Two burning questions as we approach the regular season:
Will Joe be posting a weekly Mike Evans stat watch column?
If so, will it include any 4 catch, 46 yard games or just those where he outperforms our best receiver of the week?
Tune in to Joe Bucs (kinda unless the player I like leaves) Fan this season to find out!
July 9th, 2026 at 8:26 am
JMac is the real deal. Can’t wait to see him play this season.
July 9th, 2026 at 8:31 am
“the thought of a top-shelf McMillan along with Godwin and Egbuka has Joe salivating for what might be.”
Add in Bucky, Gainwell, Tez, Otton and maybe Bauer. Can you say the cupboard is stacked!!
July 9th, 2026 at 8:35 am
I didn’t forget about him. Always liked him. I see a pretty good year for JMac..
July 9th, 2026 at 8:53 am
Drunk fan, trust me, if Evans has a big game, you won’t need to go any further than this. Hitching Post to find out about it. Whether it’s in a self-contained article or by other so-called fans, vomiting it out in post after post. No need to search for his stats. They will come to you.
July 9th, 2026 at 8:55 am
Take a quick look at Zac Robinson’s 2025 Falcons offense. They passed on 52% of their plays & ran on 48%, generating a total of 1048 plays on offense. Assume that the Bucs are able to match that this year & that Baker is our QB in all 17 games:
o Baker took 36 sacks last season & 40 sacks in 2024, so let’s say he hits the mid-point at 38 sacks this season.
o Bucs had an average of 1081 offense plays in the past 2 years (1068 in 2025 & 1094 in 2024). So if Zac stays consistent with his 52% passing & 48% rushing that’d be 562 passing attempts (38 sacks & 524 passes thrown) plus 519 rushes.
o Baker’s career completion percentage is 63.5%, so of the 524 passes he actually throws, he’d complete 333 of them, for 3773 passing yds, 26 TDs & 13 INTs.
o Bucs have a bunch of receivers vying for those 524 passes thrown. Long as they stay healthy, Godwin & Egbuka will get more than a fair share of those targets, with McMillan & Otton coming in next. And oh ya, our RBs will all get a pretty good share of those targets.
Point being: LOTS of mouths to feed. The numbers for the passing game would be a lot higher though IF Zac favors the passing game much more than he does the running game. All depends IMO on how effective the running game is (Todd LOVES a good running game).
July 9th, 2026 at 9:11 am
DR — a hidden fact: the kind of offense you have dictates the way you play defense.
High powered passing teams (think Manning or Brees) put up points. Fast. Their defenses tend to be smaller and designed to play from in front.
We all know how defensive coaches love running games. They shorten the game and give players time to rest. Scores are not only lower but closer. Those defenses tend to be heavier and more rounded. Think the Texans for example.
Look what the Bucs are putting together for this season. Bigger, especially up front. Fast in the secondary, especially nickel and safety. Our corners are not built for punishment but then the front seven should absorb a lot of the rushing and tight end responsibilities.
We haven’t seen the New Bucs Defense play yet. But just from how it’s put together we get a glimpse into the New Bucs Offense.
July 9th, 2026 at 9:20 am
Lou … Fantastic perspective. Hadn’t thought of our restructuring that way, but it makes perfect sense.
July 9th, 2026 at 9:48 am
“The numbers for the passing game would be a lot higher though IF Zac favors the passing game much more than he does the running game.”
The short passing game, is an extension of the run game. Just look at Bucky & Rachaads’ YAC figures compared to their average depth of target. In the pass game in ’24 those two combine for about 1,000 YAC, and in 2025 that was almost halved to only 587 YAC yards. We went from White having 6 TDs as a receiver to having none, while Bucky caught 3 in comparison to his 0 in 2024.
So it’s very likely Robinson will get back to blurring that line with Gainwell at his disposal and how well KG is in space(same a Rachaad) but what’ll be key is the balance. Most football coaches realize an established offense is much better when they can run the ball effectively, offensive/defensive mind doesn’t matter you value it because it’s a faster way of imposing your will on an opposing defense and you can run anything you can put in a football playbook off the back of a serviceable run game.
Sometimes last season, we didn’t even or just completely stopped running the ball and Grizzard was green as a soccer pitch, couldn’t let that get out of hand. There were some 3-6 point deficits and we just come out pass-run-pass-punt and it was enough to gouge ones eyes out, because it was formulaic futility. Like watching somebody play tic tac toe but just fill the same boxes in the same sequence, game, after game, after game. I was happy when we started running the ball more down the stretch, and I’ll be happy if Robinson can get good use out of all 3 RBs.
Might take telling 1 of those 3 guys in a given matchup, hey this doesn’t look like the best front to throw you at, so we’re going to call on you but we might lean on Tucker a little more in the run game or KG is getting all the quick looks out of the backfield.
No matter the call, we need to go back to chasing chunk plays and risking hitting home runs from the backfield like we did in 2024. That’s fastest way to give Robinsons offense an actual identity.
July 9th, 2026 at 9:51 am
Mayfield’s best year (win wise) was his 2nd year with the Browns-
The 2 stats that stand out to me that year are Mayfield only threw 8 interceptions and only took 26 sacks.
If Mayfield can have that kind of quality management this year – Bucs will have a great season.