Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Jalen McMillan Scores on First NFL Catch

He hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield.

Dan Raley

Tampa Bay and former Husky wide receiver Jalen McMillan (15) catches a 32-yard TD pass against the Washington Commanders
Tampa Bay and former Husky wide receiver Jalen McMillan (15) catches a 32-yard TD pass against the Washington Commanders / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Jalen McMillan was the last of the University of Washington super trio of wide receivers to get drafted.

However, he was the first to score an NFL touchdown, catching a 32-yard scoring pass from Baker Mayfield on Sunday to open the fourth quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Each rookie from Montlake caught a single pass in his pro football debut, with Rome Odunze hauling in an 11-yarder for the Chicago Bears and Ja'Lynn Polk making a 6-yard grab for the New England Patriots.

McMillan simply raced through the right side of the Commanders defense and settled under the ball on the 2 before skipping into the end zone.

Odunze was targeted four times in Chicago's 24-17 win at home over the Tennessee Titans and caught his 11-yarder from Caleb Williams in the second quarter, only to fumble the ball. Teammate Teven Jenkins, a tight ened, alertly recovered the ball at the Titans 10, leading to a Bears field goal.

Polk made his first NFL catch as the third quarter came to an end in the Patriots' 16-10 victory over Cincinnati, running a short route on a second-and-8 play from the New England 30.

Last season, these guys combined for 206 catches for 3,358 yards and 27 touchdowns for a 14-1 Husky team.

Odunze, Polk and McMillan, in that order, were selected in the first, second and third rounds of the NFL Draft in April, with Odunze the ninth player taken overall, Polk the 37th and McMillan the 92nd.

As far as reaching an NFL end zone, McMillan ranks No. 1 among his buddies.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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