Jalen McMillan’s absence has left a significant hole in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ receiving corps. The second-year wide receiver’s scary preseason injury has forced the Bucs to reshape their offensive plans, creating opportunities for others while potentially derailing what many expected to be a breakout campaign for the University of Washington product.
How Long Will Jalen McMillan Be Out?
McMillan suffered a neck injury during the Buccaneers’ second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The incident occurred when McMillan leaped into the air to catch a pass but was upended by Steelers cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., who took out his legs midair. McMillan landed awkwardly on the back of his head and neck, creating a terrifying scene at Acrisure Stadium.
McMillan remained motionless on the field for several minutes before eventually walking off under his own power. He was evaluated for a concussion and potential neck injury in the locker room, then left the stadium wearing a neck brace. Despite the frightening nature of the injury, he was cleared to fly home with the team.
Further evaluations in Tampa revealed what head coach Todd Bowles described as a “severe neck sprain.” While serious, Bowles emphasized the injury was not considered career-threatening. The Buccaneers subsequently placed McMillan on injured reserve, with expectations that he could miss approximately half the 2024-25 season.
McMillan has not returned to practice since the injury occurred. On October 10, Bowles confirmed that the second-year receiver is still in a neck brace. However, the Buccaneers still expect McMillan to play this season.
How Does McMillan’s Absence Impact the Buccaneers’ Offense?
McMillan emerged as a valuable contributor during his rookie season in 2024, hauling in 37 receptions for 461 yards and eight touchdowns. After joining the University of Washington as a four-star recruit, he played four collegiate seasons before Tampa Bay selected him with the 92nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The timing of McMillan’s injury compounds the Buccaneers’ receiving corps challenges. Fellow wide receiver Chris Godwin has also missed time due to an ankle injury, forcing the team to rely heavily on their depth. This situation has created an unexpected opportunity for first-round rookie Emeka Egbuka to step into a prominent role.
Egbuka, the former Ohio State standout and college football national champion, has seized his chance impressively. After a standout training camp and preseason, he carried that momentum into the regular season opener. The rookie caught two touchdown passes, including the game-winner in Tampa Bay’s victory over the Atlanta Falcons, immediately establishing himself as a reliable target for quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Buccaneers still possess elite talent at the position with six-time Pro Bowl selection Mike Evans anchoring the receiving corps. Evans, now in his 12th season with Tampa Bay, provides the veteran leadership and proven production the team needs while younger players develop around him.
Buccaneers vs. Texans Week 2 Preview
The Buccaneers enter their Week 2 matchup against the Texans fresh off a 23-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. Quarterback Baker Mayfield opened the season on a high note, while rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka delivered a sensational debut.
Egbuka hauled in four receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns, while Mayfield threw for 167 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Texans’ defense will be a big challenge for the Buccaneers’ offense, and how they perform remains to be seen.
Houston, meanwhile, comes into Week 2 after a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Rams. C.J. Stroud’s struggles continued, as the Texans scored just nine points.
The third-year quarterback needs a big performance against the Buccaneers, or his standing among the league’s elite will come under greater scrutiny. Stroud is missing several key playmakers, but with his experience, he now has to find a way to make it work.
Buccaneers Players’ Fantasy Outlooks for Week 7
Here’s what PFSN’s Kyle Soppe wrote about the notable Buccaneers players’ fantasy outlooks for the Week 7 matchup against the Detroit Lions:
Baker Mayfield
The smart kid in class is always going to end up with a good grade on a group project, right?
Even if surrounded by average (or worse) students, he/she won’t let the team fail. I know this not from experience of being that type of elevating talent, but from marrying that person (yes, we met during a group project in high school and only one of us targeted the group as an easy grade).
It worked for me, and it is working for any of you who made a commitment to Baker Mayfield this season.
Coming into the season, we thought this would be a loaded offense, but every week brings new obstacles. We had games with and without Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Bucky Irving.
None of it matters. Emeka Egbuka has been at the center of most of Mayfield’s production this season, but he was lost on Sunday, and it didn’t matter. Tez Johnson is the size of your average accountant, and Kam Johnson is a name I associate more with the National Basketball Association.
Doesn’t matter. They both scored, helping Mayfield clear 19 fantasy points for the fifth time in six weeks. I’d rather he not be forced to produce with one hand tied behind his back, but we are seeing him elevate talent weekly, and there are no signs of regression.
Last season, Mayfield had 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on balls thrown 3+ yards past the sticks. Through six weeks, his 74 such attempts this season have yielded nine scores and zero picks. He’s the George Pickens of quarterbacks, in that there is a direct correlation between confidence level and production.
As long as you believe that Mayfield would tell you to start him in fantasy, you start him in fantasy.
Emeka Egbuka
If only we had known that wide receivers in Tampa Bay were contagious before putting all our hopes and dreams in Emeka Egbuka.
The outstanding rookie suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter last week and is expected to be sidelined for some time. The Bucs get the Saints next week before going on bye in Week 9; we don’t yet have a Week 10 target return date, but it’s easy to see a path to that.
Tez and Kameron Johnson are the names to know in this offense if you want a piece of the Baker Mayfield for MVP campaign, especially indoors in a potentially offensively charged contest.
It’s a little hard to imagine, but if the manager with Egbuka has a losing record, why not start a trade conversation? If that’s the case, the rest of the roster is likely depleted, giving you the ability to swoop in with a volume deal that lands you an elite asset who closes the fantasy season with the Panthers and Dolphins in Weeks 16-17.
Mike Evans
Mike Evans suffered what Todd Bowles labeled as a “low-grade” hamstring injury in Week 3, and while that sounds good, let’s not forget that this is a 32-year-old receiver who is in the process of seeing Egbuka replace him.
Obviously, not all hope is lost. Evans still has plenty of juice (27 targets earned in his three games) and when at full strength, he stands to slide into the back-end of my WR2 rankings, especially with Chris Godwin struggling to near full strength and Bucky Irving also battling to get on the field.
There are some instances where a productive player goes down with an injury, and I’ll encourage you to buy at a discount. Opportunities like this present themselves all the time as a fantasy manager is holding a distressed asset because of their standing in your league and is looking, for lack of a better way to say it, to make a bad deal. To take pennies now for a dollar in the future.
This isn’t that. Evans missed three games a season ago, and these soft-tissue injuries always carry an aggravation risk. We haven’t seen the future Hall of Famer reach 60 receiving yards in a game this season, and I’m not sure that changes in a meaningful way when he returns to the field.
Assuming he sits this week, you’ll be able to free up a roster spot by using your IR, and that’s fine. Just be careful in assuming that you’re getting a difference-maker when he returns to your lineup.
