Jalen McMillan gets called out after a rough game in Week 6

For the most part, things are going well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite a few hiccups long the way, the team is out to a 4-2 start and faces a stretch of upcoming games where they can truly establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders.

Last season, the Bucs had tremendous success thanks to the way young players stepped up, specifically rookies and undrafted free agents. Those guys all have a year under their belts and are continuing to take strides forward as the team rises.

Zyon McCollum, Calijah Kancey, and Yaya Diaby have all become key pieces on defense, and their shoes are being filled by a rookie class that has already started to make an impact. Bucky Irving has been a revelation out of the backfield and Graham Barton has been as advertised in helping improve the offensive line.

Not everyone is having a good year, though.

While Irving is one of the hottest rookies in the league, Jalen McMillan came to Tampa Bay with more hype and after a higher draft pick was used on him. So far he's failed to live up to the hype, which is something he's already getting called out for in the hopes he turns things around.

Todd Bowles calls out Jalen McMillan and says he needs to get 'caught up'

McMillan started the season as the team's WR3, but has battled injuries and poor play through the first few weeks of the season. He's already missed a game with a hamstring injury he suffered earlier this year, which is something Todd Bowles thinks is holding him back.

Hoping to get a little bit more out of McMillan, Todd Bowles called him out this week saying that he needs to catch up in the mental game.

“Once you miss a couple of weeks, as a rookie, that’s like a lifetime,” Bowles said, via JoeBucsFan. “So he has to get caught up with the mental part of the game and speed it up a little bit."

McMillan made some rather bizarre decisions as Tampa Bay's punt returner against the Saints, routinely fielding kicks inside of the team's 10-yard line. He didn't fumble any punts, but his refusal to let the ball bounce for a touchback cost the Bucs critical yardage.

Thankfully, they didn't need those yards in a 51-27 blowout win, but the mental errors are textbook rookie mistakes. Right now, the Bucs don't have a reliable WR3 option, especially since Sterling Shephard is struggling as well. There's still a wide-open path for McMillan to earn that third receiver role behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and based on what Bowles is saying that's what is being expected of him moving forward.

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