Patriots Have Sleeper Trade Target in Buccaneers WR

The New England Patriots have definitely worked quite a bit on their receiving corps this offseason, signing multiple veterans in free agency and adding a couple of rookies.

However, with Stefon Diggs' Week 1 status up in the air due to his recovery from a torn ACL, the Patriots are kind of in some trouble when it comes to their wide receiver room.

There had been some speculation that they could pursue a trade for Terry McLaurin, but it does not appear that the Washington Commanders have any interest in moving him. That means New England may have to explore some sleeper trade targets.

Why not take a look at Tampa Bay Buccaneers youngster Jalen McMillan?

The Buccaneers' decision to take Emeka Egbuka in the first round of the NFL Draft — not to mention Tez Johnson a bit later — has definitely clouded McMillan's future in Tampa Bay. The Bucs also re-signed Chris Godwin and have Mike Evans, Trey Palmer and Ryan Miller at the position, which could make playing time difficult to accumulate for McMillan.

That's why the Pats should absolutely check in on the Buccaneers' 2024 third-round pick, who caught 37 passes for 461 yards and eight touchdowns during his rookie campaign.

The 6-foot-1 McMillan possesses solid size and impressive athleticism and actually resembled a potential breakout candidate heading into 2025, which is what made Tampa Bay's decision to take Egbuka that much more puzzling.

The Patriots may have a rather crowded depth chart at receiver right now, but if we are being honest, they lack genuine talent at that spot. Even Diggs is a major question mark given his injury recovery and his age (he is 31 years old).

Taking all of those things into consideration, it would not hurt for New England to at least call the Bucs to check on McMillan's availability before the start of the regular season.