New York Giants Draft Preview: WR Jalen McMillan

Let's take a look at a Day 3 prospect at receiver from the Huskies.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Apr 09, 2024

In this story:

New York Giants

Jalen McMillan

NFL Draft

Jalen McMillan, WR

Height: 6’1
Weight: 197 lbs.
Arm length: 32 ⅛”
Wingspan: 77 ⅜”
Hands: 10”
Class: Senior
School: Washington
STATS

MEASUREMENTS

40-yard-dash: 4.47
10-yard split: 1.53
Vertical jump: 37”
Broad jump: 10’7”
3-Cone: 6.94
20-yard shuttle: 4.18

A four-star recruit out of San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno, California, he was the 5th overall Californian recruit and the 6th wide receiver in the 2020 recruiting class while ranking 38th overall in that class. Through 50 career high school games, he caught 260 passes for 5,234 yards with 54 touchdowns.

McMillan had a great junior season that earned him several Preseason All-American hype heading into the 2023 season. He was even on the 2023 Biletnikoff Award watch list, but a knee injury against Michigan State held him out for virtually two months. He attempted to return to the field several times during his absence but failed to play in more than 12 snaps until Week 12 against Oregon State.

He caught 21 of 29 passes in his final three collegiate games vs. Oregon, Texas, and Michigan, but his senior season was marred by the knee injury. McMillan averaged 2.32 and 2.30 yards per route run in his final two years, with a career aDot of 12.2 and a 66.7% career slot rate.

Strengths

Good sized slot WR with long strides - long arms too
Solid athlete with solid deep speed - good play speed
Fluid, balanced, and smooth athlete
Good acceleration and ability to stop
Solid overall burst and explosiveness
Light feet and a good overall release package vs. soft-off man/zone
High attention to detail in his routes - remains deceptive up stem
Excellent job employing double moves from the slot (COP/POCO)
Creative route runner near the LOS on whip/pivots
Tricky receiver to cover on deep routes
Good timing as a route runner - sharply gets into his breaks on 90-degree cuts
Route running allows him to create more separation
Solid ability to explode out of tight breaks
Good tacking and concentration at the catch point
Catches the football well and doesn’t lose much momentum getting upfield
Will extend to the football when stagnant to keep the throwing window ajar
Solid overall, large, hands
Large catch radius - will leap and secure the football away from his frame
Can catch away from his frame with very good body adjustment/coordination
Quality field vision to YAC - gets upfield quickly
Not the most elusive in space, but does possess sudden movements from a stagnant position - (juke/back-juke)
Solid blocking WR from the slot - took pride in the craft
Special teams’ upside - has experience as punt returner

[View more draft prospect scouting profiles.]

Weaknesses

Only adequate COD
Not very elusive in space
Wish he was better in contested catch situations
Needs to clean up the concentration drops
Should be stronger at the catch point with his hand size
Did not face much press coverage
Has to play with more physicality

Summary

McMillan showed great promise as a slot receiver in 2022, but a knee injury hampered much of his 2023 season. Washington used McMillan at each level of the field, and the young receiver delivered. He gave CBs problems when running deep due to his ability to disguise his intentions up his stem - understood how to attack a CB’s leverage and how to get a CB to open/close their hips.

He’s not the most dynamic athlete, but he’s more than functional in that area. Most of his experience was as a slot in college, but he could also operate as a “Z” WR. He has to win 50-50 balls to earn a consistent starting role in the NFL.

His ability to create leverage as a route runner will help him avoid 50-50 situations; still, he has the hand size and has shown quality adjustment and tracking skills to locate deep passes - he just has to be more physical and commanding at the catch point.

McMillan had a few excellent examples in 2022 of winning at the catch point (Oregon Q2 4:02; Stanford Q3 12:31), but there were plenty of times when he failed to secure passes in similar situations. Overall, he’s an NFL receiver who needs to play with more physicality to unlock his potential.

GRADE: 5.92