With the conclusion of the college season, there's no doubt that Washington was among one of the nation's top -- and top teams. After finishing the 2022 season with an 11-2 overall, a 7-2 mark in conference play, and a 27-20 Alamo Bowl victory, the Huskies took the nation by storm in 2023, going 13-0 overall and 10-0 in conference play to win their 18th Pac-12 conference championship in school history and make the final four-team College Football Playoff as the No. 2 seed.
As shown by a season average of 37.7 PPG, 11th in the nation, Washington's offense proved to be the difference in their record-setting campaign. Led by superstar quarterback and Heisman runner-up Michael Penix, star running back Dillon Johnson, and wide receivers Rome Odunze and Ja'lynn Polk, the Huskies' offense was unmatched and truly unstoppable for most of the year.
Junior Jalen McMillan typically went overlooked in Washington's stacked receiving core, but the 6'1", 180-pound pass catcher still played a major role for the Huskies' offense. As Washington's primary slot receiver, McMillan caught 34 passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns in nine starts.
Of course, McMillan's production appears quite underwhelming, but it's worth noting that McMillan thrived as the Huskies' No. 1 receiver last season. In all 13 games, McMillan recorded 79 receptions for 1,098 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns, while posting 80+ receiving yards in seven games. It's worth noting that when McMillan was targeted, Penix and Dylan Morris combined for a 118.3 passer rating, the highest on the team.
Throughout his time as a Huskie, McMillan has continued to showcase his value as a catch-and-run threat, with a true knack to gain yards in space after the catch. This is often because of McMillan's quickness and vision of a return specialist, along with his stop-start ability that allows him to create initial separation at the line of scrimmage. Coupled with dangerous 4.38 40-yard dash speed, and McMillan is as much of a deep threat as a threat in short and intermediate passing situations.
Similar to the aforementioned Daniels, however, McMillan's small frame does cause concern for how McMillan will be able to deal with hard hits in the NFL. In addition, McMillan leaves a lot to be desired as a blocker on the outside and is often disrupted while the ball is in the air when matched up against physical CBs.