Jalen McMillan

These five players all had huge individual fantasy football performances to close out 2024. Andy Behrens examines those breakouts with an eye toward 2025.

Mayfield was efficient and effective through the air, but the Bucs didn't have the ball much in this game. In the fourth quarter when the Bucs had a chance to pull away, Mayfield and wide receiver Jalen McMillan were not on the same page on a reverse, which led to a fumble charged to Mayfield and essentially gave the Commanders a late lead. Despite the playoff loss, it was another solid season for Mayfield in Tampa Bay as he threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns on a 71.4 percent completion rate during the regular season. He also rushed for 378 yards and three touchdowns, but he did lead the league with 16 interceptions, so that is something that he's going to need to work on next year since those miscues cost the Bucs in the playoffs too.

He also mistimed a reverse in the fourth quarter, which led to a botched handoff with Baker Mayfield and a costly fumble that helped give the Commanders the lead. On the season, McMillan caught 37-of-58 targets for 461 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He was also second on the Bucs with eight plays of over 20 yards on the season. With Chris Godwin's contract status up in the air, there's a chance that McMillan will enter next season as the number two wide receiver in Tampa Bay, which would give him immediate fantasy appeal. However, we'll have to see if the Bucs bring back Godwin or add any other receivers in the offseason.

The veteran wideout got a light workload in practice this week but was a full-go for the final session. With Cade Otton on the right side of questionable and Jalen McMillan dominating as the team's No. 2 receiver, Shepard isn't on the fantasy radar this weekend, even with a limited number of games to choose from.

Otton has been out since Week 15. He was limited in Wednesday's practice before getting in two full sessions. He should be good to go for Tampa Bay's matchup with the Texans. Otton's role declined once the Bucs got Mike Evans back and Jalen McMillan has fully taken over as the team's No. 2 target. Otton, in turn, will be a touchdown-or-bust fantasy option for Sunday's slate.