Raekwon McMillan, a former second-round draft choice in 2017, was expected to have an outstanding rookie season, until a devastating ACL injury in a preseason contest versus Atlanta terminated those chances. Prior to the injury, McMillan was slated to become Miami’s starting strongside linebacker, due to Koa Misi retiring after sustaining a career-threatening neck injury.
One year later, McMillan’s life turned around.
In Adam Gase’s final season as head coach, McMillan was healthy, and received the starting middle linebacker job for the regular season, alongside outside linebackers Kiko Alonso and Ohio State teammate Jerome Baker. McMillan, in 2018, started all 16 games, producing 69 solo tackles and two forced fumbles.