Buccaneers coach names player who needs to step up next season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just days away from 2025 training camp, and that means meaningful football games are just around the corner.

The Bucs' offense won't have to make any major adjustments off their uber-successful 2024 season. They brought back the whole starting lineup and only added to the depth through the NFL draft and free agency. Those pieces should slide in relatively easily, but the main difference this season compared to last is a change at offensive coordinator.

Liam Coen left in the offseason to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, resulting in Tampa Bay promoting Josh Grizzard to the OC role.

Grizzard will carry much of the same over that Coen was able to instill, but undoubtedly will have some wrinkles of his own to add. He will also have one of the best offensive rosters to work with.

Josh Grizzard, Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In a recent sit-down with Buccaneers legend Ronde Barber on "The Ronde Barber Show" on WFLA, Grizzard was tasked with naming the one player on offense who needs to step up this season. Grizzard tried to downplay the question, but ultimately, after some pushing from Barber, he went with second-year wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

Is McMillan Ready to Take the Next Step?

"I think that where (McMillan) left last season and the progress he showed on and off the field, and you could see that carry over into the spring with not having Chris out there and bringing Emeka along and him showing Emeka the ropes -- then his ability to just do that and be himself and really just take off where he left off, then I think that would be huge if we were just going to actually circle one," Grizzard said. "But you know how it is, at the end of the day, it takes all 11. And he's in a good spot."

McMillan had an above-average season for a rookie wide receiver who wasn't taken early in the NFL Draft.

In his rookie debut with the Bucs, McMillan caught 37 catches for 461 yards and eight touchdowns. It wasn't too shabby for a rookie who played most of the season as third fiddle in the offense.

While his stats are decent for the season, it wasn't until the last five games of the year that we saw the possibility of who McMillan could be in the league. The majority of McMillan's metrics came down the stretch, catching 24 passes for 316 yards and seven scores over those final five games of the season.

McMillan could see his role expand a bit in the offense despite the drafting of Emeka Egbuka this season. Chris Godwin likely won't be 100% once he does return to action after his brutal ankle injury last year. Even being a polished wide receiver, Egbuka will be learning how to be effective in the NFL, which means McMillan could likely start the season as the Bucs' WR2 behind Evans.

If this is the case, much will be expected of him, especially after the finish to his rookie campaign. If McMillan can fill this role admirably, then the Bucs' offense shouldn't lose much of its firepower. And once Godwin is back to full health and Egbuka gets a grasp on everything, then the offense can become quite scary for the rest of the league.

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