Bucs WR Jalen McMillan Explains His Vast Improvement

McMillan’s five-game touchdown streak – with seven scores in those five – was a level of production that no other rookie receiver was putting up in 2024. It re-shaped the outlook of his rookie season entirely and should propel him for even greater things in his second season in Tampa Bay.

Jalen McMillan Reveals How His Game Took Off Down The Stretch

Speaking after Tuesday’s OTA practice, Jalen McMillan gave some insight as to what clicked for him in the most important moments.

“I feel like last year, I was more focused on, ‘How am I going to look in the future?’ instead of worrying about what I wanted to accomplish in the moment,” McMillan said. “And as y’all can see, as I focused on the moment, I did good things.

“It gave me a lot of confidence. I think it also gave me a lot of just confidence within myself, just going out on the field and feeling belonging.”

There’s an argument to be made that the Bucs have the deepest wide receiver room in the NFL with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, McMillan and this year’s first-round pick Emeka Egbuka. The way McMillan finished his own rookie campaign with 37 receptions for 461 yards (12.5) and eight touchdowns helps support that argument. How he improves this offseason might just add even more weight to that argument.

“We got a lot of talent,” McMillan said. “It’s really just us against us. Just being there for one another and just honing in on the talent that we possess and saying focused, really.”

McMillan talked about what he’s working on and what area of his game he would like to improve in year two.

“Just be where my feet are, [have] intent with all my actions,” Jalen McMillan said. “Definitely [to] get stronger, get faster, get smarter, just keep my circle tight. I think I was on a great run last year so just continuing that and not falling off.

“It (this offseason) allowed me to settle down and just create my routine. I kind of like waking up at like 9:30 a.m. and getting my day going, so being able to do that and surround myself with good people, good energies (has) been playing a good part in my offseason.”

Do The Bucs Have A Competition For The WR3 And WR4 Spots On The Depth Chart?

Having tremendous depth at wide receiver is great for the Bucs and it’ll certainly push Jalen McMillan to avoid complacency with the team drafting Emeka Egbuka. The two receivers actually already knew of each other with McMillan playing at the University of Washington and Egbuka playing high school football in the Seattle area.

“I heard about him through high school, seven-on-seven,” McMillan said. “I was trying to get him to commit to UDub (University of Washington) but that’s a whole other story.”

The former Husky star shared his thoughts on what he’s seen from the rookie so far.

“He’s a pro,” McMillan said. “He’s really serious about practice and already knows damn near half the playbook. I’m really excited for his growth and his future here.”

With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin taking the top two spots on the depth chart, it seems that WR3 is up for grabs between McMillan and Egbuka. Considering how Josh Grizzard likes to run 11 personnel, which features three wide receivers, there will be plenty of opportunities for McMillan to catch passes once again in his second season in Tampa Bay. But McMillan isn’t thinking about where he will wind up on the depth chart, or if he’s in a competition with Egbuka. He just wants to be the best receiver he can be this season.

“I’m just looking forward to making the most of my opportunities,” Jalen McMillan said. “I’m not really worried about any three, four, five, six spots. I’m just worried about when the ball comes my way – make the play.”