Even though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost legendary wide receiver Mike Evans to another NFC contender in the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, nobody is really worried about the offense this season because of all the burgeoning talent around Evans's former wide receiver room partner, Chris Godwin Jr.
Not only is rookie Ted Hurst a diamond in the rough to watch and Emeka Egbuka poised for a massive sophomore season out of Ohio State, but Jalen McMillan bounced back from a devastating neck injury to return to his rookie form with some big performances down the stretch of the 2025 NFL regular season.
Although those displays were for naught in the end as the Buccaneers missed out on the postseason to the rival Carolina Panthers anyway, the neglected McMillan in the NFC South is also quite the player, and he has a lot of important people around Tampa Bay high on his potential, including Bucs head coach Todd Bowles.
Jalen McMillan could be in for a monster 2026 season
The man in charge said of his No. 3 wide receiver after a practice session, via Joe Bucs Fan, “Jalen’s tough. His mental toughness is unbelievable. His competes and his competitiveness, the way he attacks the ball, the way he fights for every route and tries to get open and wants to be ‘that’ guy,” you know, that gives you a lot of confidence that he’ll be doing that in the games.”
With the way he came back from that neck injury, Jalen McMillan's toughness is already the stuff of legend in terms of mental toughness, but as Bowles also points out, the third year wide receiver's physical toughness also needs to be praised to the fullest.
McMillan plays bigger than his height, and when you look at how well he performed in the 2024 and 2025 NFL seasons, he really isn't that far off of Emeka Egbuka in terms of quality and upside either. So whenever Chris Godwin Jr. has to take a step back himself, the Bucs could still have a pretty crazy trio of wide receivers around Baker Mayfield in Egbuka, McMillan, and Ted Hurst. And that Tez Johnson, he's a real big play threat himself.
Buccaneers fans can't forget the rate statistics McMillan has put up in his career. He had nearly 12 yards per target in his four appearances last season, which is just insane, especially when you consider his jaw dropping eight touchdowns as a rookie. This guy is here to play, and he doesn't back down from anyone.
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