Jalen McMillan, 6’2” 181
San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, CA)
Ranks:
247sports – WR8
Rivals – WR13
ESPN – WR20
I lean more in favor of 247sports ranking of Jalen McMillan, as they have him correctly positioned within the top 10 of their WR rankings. The Fresno product is the best WR on the west coast and currently ranks 2nd all-time in career receiving yards (5,234) for the state of California.
Summary
McMillan is a very refined receiver who makes a living off winning at the line of scrimmage. He is conditioned to utilize his hands and footwork to beat press coverage. He won’t overpower anyone with physicality at the line, but he has an understanding of hand placement to shake free from defenders and keep himself clean. He always has a plan and reacts quickly to get defenders off balance within his release. Very quick feet and agility with purpose in his steps and the ability to cover the ground needed. He speeds into his breaks with no wasted movement and accelerates out quickly to maintain speed. Varies his stride to make for clean breaks and sinks hips properly to remain fluid. A smooth runner with good speed. Adequate in his efforts to eat up turf when facing off coverage, gaining ground quickly to get in a defenders grill before beating them to his spot and remaining in a dominant position to stack defenders allowing for a good throwing window. Good understanding of voids in coverage and creating passing windows. Knows how to manipulate zones and get to an open spot at the right time. Does well against double coverage, utilizing head fakes and double moves to defeat both defenders in high/low along with bracket coverage. McMillan reads the field well with good vision in run after the catch situations. He is quick to turn upfield after the catch and churn out extra yards. Nice lateral movements and good change of direction skills. He creates well after the catch, streaming together multiple moves and showing the fluidness and athletic ability to react quickly to running lanes and what the opposition is doing. Very good tracking ability with nice body control. Gifted with natural hands and clean catching ability. He frames the ball nicely allowing for “soft hands” and shows concentration to see the ball in. Makes adjustments needed to all throws, over the shoulder, in traffic, high pointing, and on the sideline. Great effort in the run game as a blocker. Will get physical on the outside when run blocking. Runs his routes with the effort to sell the pass then gets his hands inside the defender’s pads to drive them back. McMillan is an advanced wide receiver at the high school level who still has a ton of development left. His frame should allow him to add good weight and improve athleticism. Although he is a good separator, McMillan will try to do too much at the line and spend too much time on his footwork instead of getting into his route. Overall, I think he can be a solid contributor year one because he is immensely talented while also having a great understanding of the position.
Tape Reaction
Good concentration to haul in the one-handed catch and secure it to his body.
He is consistent in his ability to separate early. Strong footwork to quickly get by the defender.
Sees the middle of the field open and gets deep enough behind the defender while keeping a distance from the other DB. Makes for an easy touchdown.
Good toughness and concentration here. Although he wasn’t hit like he could’ve been, the possibility of a strong hit was there, but he remained focused to make the catch between two defenders.
Very quick in his initial move to sell the screen. Reacts quickly in traffic and shows his ability to get lateral with ease. Could argue that after his first move he should’ve shot upfield with the opening, but the defender closed fast from his left and ultimately got fooled by McMillan’s movements. A lot happening in a short gain, but his field vision stands out.
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