The Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed University of Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan in the third round of the NFL Draft last Friday, and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. thinks Baker Mayfield will be very happy with him.
In a piece where Kiper listed his biggest winners and losers from Day 2 of the draft, Kiper waxed about McMillan, who he thinks should have gone much earlier.
“I was surprised Jalen McMillan lasted until the end of Round 3, but the Bucs might have gotten a steal at No. 92. Baker Mayfield will love him,” Kiper wrote .
McMillan is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he caught 45 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns as Washington’s No. 3 receiver behind Rome Odunze (who was drafted ninth overall) and Ja’lynn Polk.
The 22-year-old arrived at Washington in 2020 and barely played during his freshman season. The following year, McMillan’s role increased, as he logged 39 catches for 470 yards and three scores. Then, in 2022, McMillan broke out, hauling in 79 receptions for 1,098 yards while reaching the end zone nine times.
McMillan has decent size at 6-foot-1 and ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine.
Obviously, he does not carry the same cachet as Odunze, but NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein seems to like McMillan as a potential slot receiver on the professional level.
The Fresno, Ca. native will be joining a Buccaneers receiving corps that already includes Mike Evans and Chris Godfrey, not to mention Trey Palmer. So, McMillan will certainly have to fight for playing time.
We’ll see if he can develop a connection with Mayfield going into 2024.
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