Mel Kiper name checks Buccaneers draft pick he thinks is 'a steal'
By Josh Hill
It will take some time for the dust to settle on the NFL Draft, but it's hard to not feel good about what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did.
The Bucs had four picks in the Top 100 and landed premier players with each on. Not needing to move up to get any of their draft targets was huge, something that started with Graham Barton falling to No. 26 and included additions like Chris Braswell and Bucky Irving.
In total, Tampa Bay added seven rookies -- as well as a handful of undrafted guys -- but one in particular stood out above the rest in the eyes of draft guru Mel Kiper.
Mel Kiper thinks Jalen McMillan is 'a steal' for the Buccaneers
It was a pretty big weekend for the Bucs in the eyes of Kiper, who singled the team out after Round 1 to highlight just how great they did landing Barton. He was expected to be a Top 20 pick but ended up falling right into Tampa Bay's lap.
He wasn't the only player who did that.
Kiper listed Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan as one of his draft steals, applauding the Bucs for getting a guy who should have gone much sooner on Day 2.
"One more wideout: I was surprised Jalen McMillan lasted until the end of Round 3, but the Bucs might have gotten a steal at No. 92. Baker Mayfield will love him," Kiper wrote.
The Bucs took McMillan with the pick they acquired from Detroit in the Carlton Davis III trade, and added another huge target for Baker Mayfield next season. Ideally he'll slide into the WR3 role, alongside Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and should challenge Trey Palmer to keep developing.
Depending on what happens with Godwin's contract next offseason, there's a chance that the Bucs just drafted his successor and could roll into 2025 with a trio made up of Evans-McMillan-Palmer.
That's getting way ahead of ourselves.
More immediately it seems the Bucs landed insane value with McMillan at No. 92. That was a theme for this draft class, as Jason Licht seemingly found that in every round the team had a pick, and it goes to show that the future keeps on getting brighter with each step the team takes.
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