The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have always had a lot of faith in the Washington Huskies. That’s why general manager Jason Licht has six Husky alumni on the roster, including wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who has earned the trust of offensive coordinator Liam Coen and is poised to become a big part of the team’s passing game going forward.
“I had a really good conversation with Jalen, I think it was on Sunday, and just said, ‘Hey, this is the week,'” Coen told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “We talked about it, ‘This is the week that you have to really kind of emerge and I trust you.'”
Although it wasn’t a true emergence without All-Pro receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who missed the game with injuries, McMillan finished Tampa Bay’s 31-26 loss to the Atlanta Falcons with a modest 4 catches for 35 yards, adding a carry for 17 yards. But quarterback Baker Mayfield made a point to try and get the ball to the former third-round pick early and often, which is a good sign for the rookie’s future.
“It was rough seeing [Godwin’s injury],” McMillan said on Friday. “Chris is the focal point; he’s a leader, he’s somebody that I kind of lean on when it comes to maneuvering in the league and being a rookie. So, you know, it sucked, but we have to pick up where we left off. At the end of the day, them being absent shouldn’t make our offense worse; it should stay the same. We just want to continue to improve and be better every week for those guys as well.”
McMillan will have to see an incredibly tough matchup in his next game, as the Buccaneers are set to take on the stout Kansas City Chiefs defense on Monday Night Football, led by his former teammate Trent McDuffie, but then has a slate where he could see some favorable matchups, as Tampa Bay’s next four games are against the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, and Las Vegas Raiders.
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