Nearly robbed of the entirety of his sophomore campaign due to a neck injury, Buccaneers Jalen McMillan returned to the field and showed his mettle over the final month of Tampa Bay's season.
Head coach Todd Bowles believes there's plenty more where that came from for the 2024 third-rounder.
"He is a very talented guy and he is a very passionate guy," Bowles said of McMillan earlier this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, per the . "I think he fits in great with the receiver room and he is a workhorse. He comes out to work everyday and I think he has some great football ahead of him."
McMillan's passion helped him bounce back from an Aug. 16 preseason game in which he suffered three vertebrae fractures in his neck. He spent the majority of the season on injured reserve before returning in Week 15.
McMillan found his footing for 178 receiving yards and 12 receptions over the next four games, buoyed by a Week 17 splash that saw him collect seven catches for 114 yards. McMillan producing and showing no fear in his return from injury was a welcome sight, even as the Bucs were trapped in a tailspin that would end their five-year playoff streak.
"I was just happy to see him come back," Bowles said. "There was a point in the season where I did not know if he would come back and then if he came back, I did not know if he would have the jitters, especially with the neck injury. I think the first game back he took a vicious hit and kind of fell on his neck and he got up like nothing happened and then I was happy after that."
Perhaps somewhat of a forgotten entity after his injury and 2025 first-round WR Emeka Egbuka's remarkable start to his rookie year, McMillan is not far removed from being a rookie darling himself.
Although his final stat line of 461 yards on 37 receptions from the 2024 campaign was modest -- seven of McMillan's eight touchdown catches came during a blistering five-game stretch to end the season.
Should franchise stalwart Mike Evans find the allure of a new home during his upcoming free agency too strong to ignore, the Buccaneers will by no means venture into unfamiliar territory unprepared.
That's thanks in part to McMillan, as well as Egbuka, Tez Johnson and veteran Chris Godwin.
