Buccaneers' Jalen McMillan Reveals Key To Year 2 Jump

Jalen McMillan's rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be described as a classic tale of two halves.

Initially, a slow burn in Liam Coen's offense as the receiver adjusted to life in the NFL, Jalen posted 30+ yards just three times in his first eight games before his production improved.

McMillan would finish the last five games of the season with at least 50 receiving yards and a touchdown, and he followed that up with a 41-yard game in the playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.

In total, 461 yards and eight touchdowns from 37 receptions aren't a bad return from a third-round pick. Now, as Jalen enters Year 2, what is the key to making sure how he finished last season is how he begins the new year?

"Just having fun with the game and just finding ways to win," McMillan said. "Learning from Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin] as always, and I'm always ready to learn and I'm always ready to get better."

With a new offensive coordinator in Josh Grizzard, McMillan will be part of a receiver room that now has Emeka Egbuka, along with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and tight end Cade Otton, so there will be battles for reps on gameday.

Still, McMillan showed more than enough down the stretch last season to warrant snaps in Grizzard's offense, and now it is up to the receiver to make them count.

Having gotten a little bigger and stronger this offseason, McMillan is already noticing the difference in his blocks and route running, with the hope that he can hit the ground running in 2025 and be a viable member of Tampa Bay's offense.

And when you are learning from the likes of Evans and Godwin, you have a pretty good shot at becoming that.