Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht says he expects wide receiver Chris Godwin to make his return in week five at the earliest.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is returning from a dislocated ankle and won’t be placed on Injured Reserve, but still isn’t expected on the field in the first four weeks of the season. General manager Jason Licht believes Godwin could return in week five or later.
Godwin isn’t the only Bucs wide receiver that will miss time to open the season, second year wide out Jalen McMillan was placed on IR with a neck injury. With Godwin and McMillan out for at least the first four weeks of the season first round rookie Emeka Egbuka will have to step up alongside Mike Evans in the Tampa Bay passing attack.
What was once considered their deepest position, wide receiver depth is now a question for the Buccaneers. Expect Baker Mayfield’s targets to consolidate around Evans and Egbuka for the opening weeks of the season.
Author: David Leonard (@RealDelcoDave)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan (neck) ...
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan (neck) ...
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed wide receiver Jalen ...
Buccaneers 2nd year wide out, Jalen McMillan could be out until Week 10.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got bad news for their receiver room. Second year player, Jalen McMillan has suffered a sprained neck after falling on the back of his head in a preseason matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The injury could keep McMillan out past the team’s Week 9 bye. With Chris Godwin not looking like a lock to start the season healthy, what was once a major depth piece for the Buccaneers is now becoming somewhat thinner. Fortunately, rookie Ohio State phenom Emeka Egbuka will be able to fill in. Egbuka has drawn high praise from starting quarterback Baker Mayfield and scored a touchdown in the matchup with the Steelers.
Egbuka is going in the middle of round 6 on Underdog and should see his ADP continue to rise. Mike Evans who is a near lock for 1,000 yards receiving every year can be drafted in the early part of round 4. Expect Godwin’s ADP to fall into the 9th round while McMillan will be lucky to be drafted at this point between now and the start of the season (current round 15 ADP).
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Jalen McMillan is one of the top risers in PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Deluxe lifetime value rating for the beginning of 2025.
McMillan heated up at the end of the year, scoring 16 or more PPR fantasy points and at least one Touchdown in the final five games of the regular season. Some may point to Touchdown dependency and possible regression, though it’s important to note he also earned five or more targets in each of these games.
While McMillan was relatively quiet in the Buccaneers playoff loss to the Commanders, it was encouraging to see him log a season-high 92% snap share, signaling that the coaching staff wanted to lean on him when they needed to most. Mike Evans will remain a fixture in Tampa Bay, but there is room for McMillan to further ascend in a wide receiver room devoid of any other major talent outside of Chris Godwin, who faces an uphill battle to return to fantasy relevance after suffering the second major injury of his NFL career in week 7.
With Baker Mayfield set to return in 2025, the Buccaneers figure to again be one of the top passing offenses in the NFL. Fantasy Managers should target McMillan now for a relatively low cost before he continues to pickup buzz this offseason.
-Jonny Tooma (@FantasyPicasso)
The Buccaneers are staying home after a 23-20 loss to the Washington Commanders in the Wild Card round.
The Buccaneers lost a heartbreaker to the Washington Commanders in the opening round of the NFL Wild Card playoffs. The Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez hit a game winner off the goal post to end the Buccaneers season.
The outcome wasn’t without plenty of success along the way. The Buccaneers offense is in great shape with Baker Mayfield in command. Mayfield was the QB-4 on the season. Mayfield worked in tandem with Mike Evans to get his 11th straight 1,000 yard receiving campaign. Bucky Irving separated himself from Rachaad White as the RB-13. Irving was 2nd in yards created per touch at 4.94 and 7th in breakaway runs with 14.
2025 shows as a void year for Chris Godwin so naturally Jalen McMillan is set up to ascend into his sophomore campaign. Tight end Cade Otton had 6 TE-1 weeks in 2024. Expect stability in the Buccaneers offense which makes Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, and Jalen McMillan good buys in dynasty at their cost.
Jeremiah Retzlaff, coachretzlaff1
Running back Bucky Irving is expected to play this week while Jalen McMillan is trending towards not playing.
The pair of rookies have divergent expectations for this week as Bucky Iriving is trending towards playing while Jalen McMillan is looking doubtful for the week. The Buccaneers play the Philadelphia Eagles at home in week 4.
Bucky Irving has gained plenty of steam in redraft and dynasty leagues as he has been cutting into Rachaad White’s opportunity share in the Buccaneers backfield. Irving has an impressive 5.6 true yards per carry and 6.1 yards per touch which ranks No. 5 at the running back position. Irving’s 80.4 run blocking rating is 4th at the position which is helping eat into White’s workload.
Jalen McMillan, who had an impressive touchdown reception in week 1 has had a meager target share. Use this opportunity to include Jalen McMillin as a throw-in to a deal in dynasty leagues. Between an aging Mike Evans and growth for McMillan, expect there to be more maturation for the Buccaneers rookie wide receiver.
The Buccaneers are going to need more cannons after defeating the Commanders 37-20.
Baker Mayfield thrived week 1 versus the Washington Commanders. With new offensive coordinator Liam Coen in town, questions arose in the offseason about whether or not there would be a dropoff for the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Finalist.
Baker cooked up 289 passing yards and 4 touchdown passes against the Commanders weak secondary. Mike Evans rose to the occasion with 5 receptions, 61 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns. Chris Godwin and rookie Jalen McMillan also had a receiving touchdown each.
The Buccaneers will travel to Detroit for what will present prime conditions for an offensive shootout. Expect Baker Mayfield to pick up where he left off in week 1, making Buccaneers wideouts viable in all formats.
