Jalen McMillan Is The 'Young Stud' That Everyone Is High On

It’s set to be the best Bucs training camp battle.

But don’t be surprised to see rookie Jalen McMillan emerge early on as the team’s No. 3 wide receiver.

During the offseason, McMillan, Tampa Bay’s third-round pick, has looked impressive so far. While he has already drawn rave reviews from quarterback Baker Mayfield, Mayfield again had high praise for the promising wideout on the precipice of camp.

Baker Mayfield: Jalen McMillan has “A Ton Of Potential”

Speaking at his youth football camp in Land O’Lakes, Fla. on Saturday, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield discussed how much he looks forward to having veteran wide receiver Chris Godwin back in the slot and rookie Jalen McMillan being in line to take over outside at the Z receiver (flanker) position.

While Mayfield briefly talked about Godwin, most of his answer revolved around McMillan having a lot of room to grow and how learning from the veterans in the wide receiver will help him.

“Anytime you can say that you’re putting Chris Godwin somewhere where he’s back and comfortable, it’s pretty good,” Mayfield said. “It’s a pretty good thing to be able to adjust. Jalen McMillan is a young stud and I think he’s got a ton of potential. For him to be able to step into a receiver room with guys like Mike [Evans] and Chris, and even somebody like Sterling [Shepard] who has a lot of experience.

“To be able to learn from those guys, and understand how they prepare, that’s what separates those guys. Especially Mike and Chris – they do it completely differently. Chris is always in the building and Mike does his own thing, but they both show up and they’re ready to go no matter what. That’s something you can learn, whatever routine works for you. Jalen can pick up on that and figure it out for himself. Looking forward to him growing throughout this process and just bringing him up to speed.”

The last part of Mayfield’s response is the most interesting. When discussing Evans and Godwin, he mentioned that each of their routines is different. Despite that, they each have made it work and when it comes time for training camp, they are ready to go.

For McMillan, developing his own routine and understanding the ins and outs of being an NFL wide receiver is crucial for him to reach his ceiling, and he has some of the best mentors to guide him along his journey.

Bucs Coaches Are Also High On WR Jalen McMillan

Not only is his quarterback high on him, but Jalen McMillan’s coaches are similarly satisfied with what they have seen from him so far throughout the offseason. Back in June, head coach Todd Bowles spoke about how he fits in well and how he cannot wait to see him out on the field in pads.

“He’s a good route runner, he’s a competitor, he’s very intelligent – that impressed me the most,” Bowles said in assessing the former Washington wide receiver last month. “I can’t wait to see him in pads.”

Bowles continued.

“Anytime you can get another ball catcher, route runner, and intelligent receiver… He fits in well, no matter where we put him at,” Bowles said. “We’ve got a couple of guys behind him – obviously Trey [Palmer], ‘Rock’ [Rakim Jarrett] and the rest of the guys can play, as well. But, he fits in well with Chris [Godwin] and Mike [Evans]. He had a lot of versatility in college. He played in the slot, he played ‘Z,’ he played ‘X.’ He’s a very intelligent player. That gives us some advantages.”

Going back a little further, Tampa Bay’s new offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, shared his excitement about McMillan and the ways he can utilize him within his offensive scheme.

“I love J-Mac,” Coen said back in May. “He’s a true route-runner. He’s a guy that’s wired to separate. Has the ability to work the defense at all three levels. He can run the option routes and the choice routes but also has enough long speed to get down the field vertically.

“He’s very quarterback-friendly with the way that he gets out of his breaks, he’s a hands-catcher. He played in a system and with a group of guys that was extremely competitive. “He has that competitive nature to be able to come in here and compete for early playing time.”

Put this together, and you have a lot of important Bucs in Jalen McMillan’s corner.

As he looks to prove them right, optimism is high that McMillan will be a factor on offense right away in 2024 and grow into a bigger one in the seasons to come.