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As players begin to trickle in for training camp around the NFL, few have as big an opportunity to step into a starring role as former Washington Huskies wide receiver Jalen McMillan.
The former third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2024 NFL draft has put together 49 catches for 638 yards and 8 touchdowns over his first two professional campaigns, most of which came in his rookie year before he was limited to just four games last season by fractured vertebrae in his neck.
That injury was a major blow to the momentum that he had generated down the stretch of his rookie season, after he hauled in seven touchdowns across Tampa Bay's final five games in 2024, which helped him prove himself as a reliable option for quarterback Baker Mayfield. After the Buccaneers saw perennial All-Pro receiver Mike Evans leave in free agency for the San Francisco 49ers, the veteran signal caller will be searching for a new top target this fall.
Enter McMillan, whose chemistry with Mayfield has been apparent whenever he's been on the field.
As Tampa Bay's other All-Pro receiver, Chris Godwin, has struggled with injuries over the last few years, and 2025 first-round pick Emeka Egbuka cooled off down the stretch with just 18 catches over the team's final seven games, McMillan has a major opportunity to move in on the major target void left by Evans' departure.
Now that he's fully healthy, McMillan, who averaged 6.2 targets per game during his touchdown streak in 2024, could prove to be an important playmaker in Tampa Bay's offense.
“I am happy,” McMillan told Pewter Report. “Just to be out there and to catch balls from Baker and just to run on my feet, I feel good…I am definitely taking appreciation for the small things and celebrating small wins, and call my mom and dad every day. I am not taking any relationship for granted, so life has been good."
"I had to sit in my bed and wonder, 'Is my neck going to heal correctly?' So, as soon as I was given the opportunity to play again, I knew that I could not look back and there was no time to be nervous and no time to be thinking about anything."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Former Washington WR can be among NFL's breakout stars of 2026
