Fantasy Football Fallout: Jalen McMillan Lands On Injured Reserve

Now the Bucs will have to place McMillan on injured reserve. Due to the severity of the injury, McMillan could miss multiple weeks. Some are even suggesting that he could miss half the season. Despite the bad news, there is a silver lining. His name is Emeka Egbuka.

Fantasy Football Fallout: Jalen McMillan Lands On Injured Reserve

Egbuka has already been making a name for himself during the Buccaneers’ offseason program. Now he could have a legitimate chance to be fantasy relevant even quicker than anticipated. When Egbuka was drafted, he was the WR4 heading into the Bucs minicamp with a possible chance to fight for the WR3 spot against Jalen McMillan. Now with McMillan on injured reserve, Egbuka moves up the depth chart as the WR3. But wait, there’s more.

In a report from PewterReport, wide receiver Chris Godwin, who is working his way back from his offseason ankle injuries, could start the season on the PUP list. Per the report, Godwin has not been cleared for team activities and hasn’t even started running on the practice field. Should this hold up for the rest of training camp and Godwin lands on the PUP list, he could miss the first four games (or more) of the regular season. This would throw Egbuka right into the starting lineup for the Bucs right off the bat.

Egbuka’s fantasy value has already seen an increase, likely due to the recent news. According to Underdog, Egbuka’s fantasy value was around the seventh round back in April as the 84th selection. Now his fantasy value has shot up 19 spots to the 65th range, making Egbuka the WR35 to date. That puts him in the same range as Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave, just to name a few.

Last season, Baker Mayfield finished fifth in pass attempts with 570. The Bucs are still going to be one of the more voluminous passing offenses even without Liam Coen as the offensive coordinator this season. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are normally the “go-to” options in the Bucs’ passing offense. Evans by himself commanded nearly 24% target share last season, averaging nearly eight targets per game. Godwin actually averaged more targets per game at nearly nine per. Godwin also saw a slightly bigger target share at 26.5%. Had both receivers played the entire season at their averages, that would amount to 134 targets for Evans and 151 for Godwin.

While it’s not as likely that Egbuka will see the kind of target share Godwin saw last season, it is still possible for him to be heavily involved in the passing attack with Godwin and McMillan down. Mayfield has already expressed confidence in the young rookie on the “New Heights” podcast earlier this offseason. Fantasy managers will want to target Egbuka and pair him with a strong receiving group. Even as a WR3/flex option for fantasy rosters would be an exceptional pick for the kind of playing time and volume he could receive.

The Bucs do still have the option of picking up another receiver off the free agency pile. So that is something to look out for as the offseason heads into the final week of preseason games. But make no mistake. Egbuka is headed to becoming a household name for fantasy this season.