The NFL Draft is an inexact science, and that includes scouting the NFL Combine.
As part of the NFL Scouting Combine, teams interview incoming prospects to get to know them a little better. In 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers received one of the most unique answers, perhaps in Combine history, from their eventual third-round pick — wide receiver Jalen McMillan.
Buccaneers’ Jalen McMillan’s Avocado Vanilla Potato Chips NFL Combine Answer
It’s taken a year for it to surface, but to celebrate the 2025 NFL Combine this week, the Buccaneers social media team shared an answer and posted a video of it on X that the organization received from McMillan during his interview last year.
When asked what he likes to do for fun, McMillan shared that he enjoys going to the grocery store to try different-flavored cereals and potato chips.
“It may sound weird, but I like to go to the grocery store, and you know how they have those off-brand cereals that are, like, the weird kinds. I’ll collect those, and I’ll try those, and then I’ll go to the grocery store and get different potato chip flavors,” said McMillan.
.@jasonrlicht never heard the answer @jalenmcmillan20 gave at his Combine interview 👀🥣 pic.twitter.com/5hpFFlSK3f
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 27, 2025
Without asking, McMillan recalled a recent example.
“Last week, I had avocado vanilla, and it was disgusting …”
The video then showed someone in Tampa Bay’s organization briefly interrupting McMillan to double check that he was talking about an avocado potato chip.
“Avocado vanilla, yeah, potato chip,” McMillan answered. “I’ll do that. But nah, it was terrible.”
As a follow-up question, the Buccaneers asked if he shares this hobby with anyone else. McMillan answered that it’s an activity he does by himself. That all but confirmed to Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht that his initial reaction to McMillan’s hobby was very true.
“I can honestly say I’ve never heard anybody say that they do that as a hobby,” said Licht.
McMillan admitted again it was weird but also seemed to be excited about the uniqueness of his hobby. It’s difficult to say whether the answer helped or hurt McMillan’s overall draft stock, but it certainly didn’t stop the Buccaneers from taking the receiver off their draft board entirely, electing to pull the trigger at No. 92 overall in Round 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
McMillan Helps Spark Buccaneers’ Offense
With the arrival of McMillan and running back Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay’s offense reached another level in 2024 — finishing in the top four in both scoring and total offense. The Buccaneers were also third in receiving yards and fourth in rushing.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield experienced one of the best seasons of his career, posting an 87.9 grade and No. 6 overall in PFSN’s QB+ metric. The only quarterbacks to finish ahead of him were Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Joe Burrow.
McMillan, meanwhile, ended his rookie season with 37 receptions for 461 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He came on very strongly during the second half, with seven of his eight touchdowns coming in the final five weeks of the regular season.
With most of Tampa Bay’s offensive playmakers set to return, the Buccaneers are expected to target a defensive player in the 2025 NFL Draft. In his latest NFL mock draft, PFSN’s Marco Enriquez has the Buccaneers selecting Tennessee Volunteers edge rusher James Pearce Jr. at No. 19 overall.