Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan Gets Strong Message From New Offensive Coordinator

Jalen McMillan’s breakout rookie season in 2024 helped Liam Coen land the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching position.

But Coen’s replacement as Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator has even higher hopes that McMillan will take his game to another level in his second NFL season.

Josh Grizzard, Tampa Bay’s first-year OC, called McMillan a key player during his appearance on the “The Ronde Barber” show recently.

McMillan, the 92nd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington, started his NFL career slowly but finished with 37 catches for 461 yards and eight touchdowns in his first year — but closed his regular season with five straight 50-plus-yard performances and had seven scores in that span, helping the Bucs rally to win the NFC South.

Why Did Josh Grizzard Say Jalen McMillan Needs To Step Up?

McMillan had a huge season, especially after Chris Godwin was lost for the year due to a Week 7 dislocated ankle. But that didn’t stop the Bucs from spending a first-round pick on Emeka Egbuka from Ohio State, which has created a crowded receivers room all of a sudden.

So when Barber asked which player he needs to make his offense go in 2025, Grizzard expressed his confidence in the still-just 23-year-old wideout.

“I think that where J-Mac left last season and the progress he showed on and off the field, you could see that carry over into the spring with not having Chris out there and bringing Emeka along and him showing Emeka the ropes,” Grizzard said. “His ability to just do that and be himself and really just take off where he left off, then I think that would be huge if we were just going to actually circle one.”

What Role Does Jalen McMillan Have On The Bucs This Year?

When their full complement of receivers is healthy the Bucs may have less of a role for McMillan, since that was what hampered him from getting on the field early in the year.

McMillan does not play special teams — he was in on just six snaps a year ago — and he played 70 percent of the Bucs’ offensive snaps in 2024. But he also was a healthy scratch in four games and had one catch or fewer in five games a season ago — making him a relative non-factor in more than half of Tampa Bay’s games.

If the Bucs play 11 personnel (3 wide receivers, 1 tight end, 1 running back), with Cade Otton at tight end and Bucky Irving or Rachaad White as the RB, McMillan seems likely to watch from the sidelines. ESPN projects Godwin, Egbuka and veteran mainstay Mike Evans as Tampa Bay’s starting wideouts — with McMillan and Sterling Shepard backing them up.

But Godwin is still recovering from the injury, and new injuries have a tendency to throw a wrench into teams’ plans. That is why Grizzard believes McMillan will be valuable to the Bucs this upcoming season.

“You know how it is, at the end of the day, it takes all 11 [offensive players],” Grizzard said, “and he’s in a good spot.”