Jalen McMillan Injured: Updated Fantasy Outlooks For Emeka Egbuka And Chris Godwin

An evaluation of the fantasy football impact of Jalen McMillan’s injury on Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr.'s fantasy football values going into the 2026 season.

Jul 31, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan (11) participates in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Unfortunate news just broke out of Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp. WR Jalen McMillan suffered a knee injury. As of now their is no set timeline for his return, but it does not seem to be a serious injury. However, it would not be surprising to see Tampa Bay be extra cautious with McMillan for the remainder of the ramp-up period–preseason games and training camp–given his injury history. 

In 2025, McMillan appeared in only four games due to a severe neck injury he had in the preseason. In 2024 in his rookie season, McMillan missed four games due to a thigh and hamstring injury.

If McMillan does end up missing extended time, here is a breakdown of how that would affect WRs Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka, fantasy-wise

Emeka Egbuka Fantasy Outlook

Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Egbuka was already one of the highly touted breakout candidates coming into the 2026 season. That stems from the production he had in his rookie season, and WR1 for the Buccaneers in 2025, Mike Evans, is now on the San Francisco 49ers. McMillan being out would give Egbuka a boost in production. 

Going back to 2024, McMillan was on his way to becoming one of QB Baker Mayfield’s favorite targets. In his last five games of that season, he had over five receptions in every game and a TD in every game. That chemistry between the two has sadly been derailed due to the major injury McMillan had in 2025. With him potentially being out, Egbuka, who was already primed to be Mayfield’s number one target going into 2026, would see those odds increase slightly. 

In PPR fantasy formats for 2026, Egbuka is ranked as WR18 and the 42nd best player available by ESPN. Fantasy managers, if news dropped that McMillan was to miss extended time in 2026, should feel more than comfortable taking Egbuka as high as WR15 in fantasy drafts.

Chris Godwin Jr. Fantasy Outlook

Oct 21, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14) looks on before a game against theBaltimore Ravens at Raymond James Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Godwin Jr., in his last couple of seasons, has had games where he has looked like the elite fantasy WR he once was, but among those games have been long injury stints and a ton of underwhelming fantasy outings.

In 2025, Gowin Jr. had his second consecutive season in which he played under 10 games, appearing in a total of nine. In those games, he had a total of 33 receptions for 360 receiving yards and two TDs. 

ESPN in PPR fantasy formats for 2026 has Godwin Jr. ranked as WR52. Even at that low of a spot, there are still better options for fantasy managers to go with, even if McMillan misses significant time. The injury risk and the production Godwin had on average when he was available in 2025–3.6 receptions per game, 40 receiving yards per game, and 0.3 TD per game–the better move is to take a swing on WRs in the range of Godwin Jr. who on paper have higher fantasy ceilings.

A couple of WRs fantasy managers can target are San Frasnisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel(ranked WR51 by ESPN for PPR) and Houston Texans WR Jayden Higgins (ranked WR54 by ESPN for PPR).