Mike Evans No. 8
January 19th, 2018
Ranked.
Thanks to a major overhaul last offseason, the Bucs don’t have to worry about wide receivers this winter and spring. When’s the last time that ever happened?
And part of that is because of stud wide receiver Mike Evans. He tied an NFL record in December for most 1,000 yards receiving in a player’s first four seasons.
Good guy Doug Farrar, a film junkie for Bleacher Report, believes Evans is the No. 8 receiver in the NFL.
Evans will let his temperament get the best of him at times, and he’s prone to drops and penalties, but he also has a rare combination of speed, agility and the physicality to make any contested catch an unpleasant experience for the guy covering him. Tampa Bay’s offense didn’t take off the way it was expected to with the draft selection of tight end O.J. Howard and the free-agency signing of receiver DeSean Jackson, but Evans still achieved the impressive feat of racking up 1,000-yard seasons in each of his four years in the NFL. He has the potential to be a generational talent if he can keep his head in the game at all times.
Evans is why Joe is a big believer in offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Todd Monken. When he was hired away from Southern Miss by Dirk Koetter, Monken was given one major task to solve: fix Evans, who had let his emotions get the best of him too often and had frequent bouts of the dropsies.
Monken did just that. And now Evans — in Joe’s eyes — is an elite receiver.
If anyone has better footwork than Evans along the sidelines other than Antonio Brown, please point him out for Joe. Evans is that good.
January 19th, 2018 at 12:39 am
I admire the stew out of Evans for his talent, but I cannot stand his attitude. In all honesty, I would actually rather watch him make contested catches and have 1,000-yard seasons for some other team (hopefully in the AFC) than watch him continue to embarrass Tampa Bay with his quick-trigger rage fests on the field and ignorant anthem-kneeling. We’ve got Godwin, Hump, and D-Jax – I’d much rather see what a team like the Browns would cough up in return for a player of his caliber.
January 19th, 2018 at 1:05 am
One of the few warriors and seriously talented players on the team. ME13 wants to win badly.
January 19th, 2018 at 1:41 am
William Berry you embarrass yourself with that lame of a comment. Man our fans idiots.
January 19th, 2018 at 1:42 am
Fans are* idiots
January 19th, 2018 at 1:43 am
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That’s a good article … I’d put Evans at #6, ahead of the authors picks for #6 (Demaryius Thomas) and #7 (Stefon Diggs) …
However, his QB rankings are off and he seems to play favorites and purposely “doctor” the numbers. For example, he has Cam with an 18/25 on “accuracy” and Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers with a 20/25 on “arm” … but he’s got Jameis at a 17/25 on accuracy and a 19/25 on “arm”. I’m sorry but that’s stupid and my guess is that the guy assigned accurate numbers to all of the QBs at first and then “adjusted” them as needed to rank the list the way he wanted.
Why do I say this?
If Ryan and Rivers have a 20/25 arm, Jameis has at least a 22/25 arm and anyone who has watched the three QBs play can agree with that. Likewise, if Cam is a 17/25 on accuracy, Jameis is at least an 18-19
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January 19th, 2018 at 1:48 am
The Bucs can trade DJax … that wouldn’t bother me … but Mike is a keeper!
January 19th, 2018 at 2:11 am
Trade him for what? Keep Jax this upcoming season after that cut him. At least have him returning kicks and punt. Evan 1 Godwin 2 Jax 3
January 19th, 2018 at 2:28 am
Just think if the refs actually called 1% of the pass interferences. On literally any play you watch you’ll see defenders holding Evans, grabbing his arms before the ball gets there, pulling hair, poking him the eye, raking his back, all that shiznitz.
Instead they also never call PI against defenders, yet they’ll call offensive PI on Evans. Just real classic union slob referring.
January 19th, 2018 at 2:29 am
Get rid of Mike…SMH….🤣👎
January 19th, 2018 at 3:04 am
Rod, I’m convinced that refs purposely turn their heads in some situations on some players. Mike plays physical & most refs probably allow the defenders to play physical against him. My guess is that he’s also gotten a rep among the refs for ‘begging’ for a call (holding, interference, etc) and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Monken did a lot IMO to help him stop that. All-in-all, Mike’s served the Bucs very well & Licht definitely needs to get a new contract done.
And NFLNut, trading DJax seems highly unlikely. His guaranteed money is one thing, but more than that, IF he & Jameis can get on the same page this season (and improve the OLine & RB situations), then they could light up the league. We all said that last year (“No one will be able to stop the Bucs”) BUT … we all found out pretty fast that it takes the complete package to dominate in the NFL.
I’m convinced that Mike Evans will be here for another full contract (4-5 years). Godwin is a keeper for sure, as is OJ. I expect DJax to be here just 1 more year. My concerns are Humphries & Brate. Jameis has an excellent chemistry with BOTH of them, but BOTH of them will want to be well paid for what they bring to the table. With all our other FA needs & only so much money to go around, I’m not at all sure that Licht is willing to do what it takes to keep both of them.
January 19th, 2018 at 3:50 am
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Guys, I wasn’t actually saying the Bucs will, or even should trade DJax … I was just sort of messing with the goober who praised DJax and said Mike should be traded.
The above said … if there was a team that would give the Bucs a 3rd and 7th like the Bills gave the Panthers for a half season rental of Kelvin Benjamin, I’d pull the trigger.
Maybe the Steelers would give the Bucs Martavis Bryant for DJax straight up? I would DEFINITELY pull the trigger on that as Martavis can fly and can also go up and get it … and would be cheaper than DJax as well … the Bucs should call the Steelers at least as Martavis was a headache for them this season and made it clear he doesn’t want to play for Pittsburgh in 2018 …
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January 19th, 2018 at 4:30 am
Wouldn’t it be great if we could trade GMC, DJax, Doug, Swaggy, Sweezy and Ayers to the Steelers for Lev Bell and Martavis Bryant … if only the NFL was like MLB baseball or the NBA with those leagues wild trades, hahahaha
January 19th, 2018 at 5:09 am
Don’t trade anyone!! Get a coach that is not more inapt than Lovie like Koetter. I love to post sh$&t like this because ones mouth can deny how sorry of a coach Koetter is, but ones mind cannot. Koetter is terrible. Lovie was ten times better. Lovie walked into a team that was the worst in the league for years becauce of bad management since Dungy was fired. It had to be done. The team was lacking in talent. People called Lovie a loser. Now, we are stuck with Koetter, and people now blame Jameis for the losses that are mounting up. When facts are presented to these people, they bury their heads in their butts. Winston is the only QB that no one cares about his numbers. Winston has the worst coach in the league. Koetter was putting the dagger in Winston’s back, and Winston still saved Koetter’s job. Another thing, an AC joint sprain is a very serious injury. There are several different degrees of the injury, but it is a lot more serious than what Mariota had. People complain that Winston could not connect with Jackson. The AC joint sprain explains that. You cannot ruin Winston, and he will punish you for trying.
January 19th, 2018 at 5:37 am
Next season, I hope Mike spouts less yack (at the refs) and more YAC (after the catch).
January 19th, 2018 at 7:01 am
A lot of the Db’s with the reputation for being great defenders are given a pass
by grabbing arms ,jerseys or whatever to earn that reputation. The closer you get to the playoffs,the more blatant it gets. This gives a team that bends the rules
a distinct advantage. Grabbing receivers arms, or wrapping arms around a receiver in the endzone should not be tolerated. That said, if the NFL will not level the playing field and fix this, we better be looking for more bigger,faster, more physical DB”s.
January 19th, 2018 at 7:10 am
I may be wrong but ME seems to me to be a big athletic football dude…that has much much more upside if he would only dedicated himself to more physical conditioning and working on the details of his craft….he appears to me to be coasting on his god given talents
January 19th, 2018 at 7:27 am
DBs have done everything except commit sodomy on Evans…..There is no receiver in the NFL who is abused like Evans….it’s no wonder he gets angry.
The reason why some of Evans’ numbers are down is that Jameis is comfortable throwing to Evans when he is covered and he is usually doubled.
Looking back over the years, the Bucs have had few players like Evans. He is absolutely a keeper…..Just ask Jameis what he thinks…
As long as Evans & Godwin are healthy, you can do without Jackson….but that’s a big if.
January 19th, 2018 at 7:39 am
Why would you say that Altered? Because its your impression?? From all accounts I’ve heard – ME works his butt off most of the year to stay in great shape and continue to hone his talents. GTFOOH with that crap.
January 19th, 2018 at 7:48 am
having one star means the rest are not targeted enough. doen’t make ME special…they said the same about the other guy….forgot his name, the rapper in NY
over rated
January 19th, 2018 at 7:51 am
ME has gotten physically softer with time
January 19th, 2018 at 8:12 am
Ego, that’s a nice opinion. Be a shame if it were dead wrong… which it is. Moron
January 19th, 2018 at 8:20 am
Tbbf says – “the Bucs have had few players like Evans”
Bucs have never had a receiver like Evans. MeShawn was the closest but I’d take Evans all day long over Key in his prime (which was with the Jets btw).
Big Mike has put in his time – and is about to get paid. One way or another. I think even his 5th year option if the Bucs go that route for 2018 is like $11-12M or something.
Probably makes more sense to go ahead and work out a long term deal now though. Evans is coming off his worst statistical season in 2018 – (largely because the Oline wasn’t good enough and thus the whole offense was out of sync) and Mike going downstat again is unlikely to happen next year IMO. There were some great receivers in Mike’s class and once they start signing big deals (OBJ in particular) the price is just going to go up from there.
Evans realistic current market value is probably about $15M per year. Time to start paying for all that good drafting Jason Licht.
January 19th, 2018 at 8:56 am
If Licht was an utter buffoon, I think this offense would have thrived and ME would have put up similar numbers in the past, not sure on drafting OJ after you sign DJAX, the bucs pick an RB up at 19, D Cook or kamara or a 2nd por 3rd round stud that instantly helps the pass game but that didnt happen because well its the bucs
January 19th, 2018 at 9:07 am
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I could be wrong but I think this might be the best core of W/R’s we have ever had. Evans, Jackson, Hump, Godwin, Even Martino is “serviceable” Bobo could also be an exciting addition.
January 19th, 2018 at 9:35 am
Easily the most WR talent this franchise has ever assembled doolnutts. Its not even close.
Assuming Godwin’s development continues on track next year and if the Bucs can figure out how to use DJax properly – I think its not a stretch to say that the Bucs might have the most 1>4 talent at WR in the entire league right now.
January 19th, 2018 at 9:40 am
Rb is the only real need on offense. Besides oline help. DEFENSE can use upgrades just to prove Mike Smith has been the problem all along.
January 19th, 2018 at 9:53 am
You heard it here first – Mike Evans is the best receiver on the planet.
Get him a QB who can run an offense without forcing the poor guy the ball every play, and he goes to the HOF
GO BUCS!!!!!!
January 19th, 2018 at 10:07 am
@Rod Munch
AGREED. People always talk about Mike’s attitude but he is constantly getting the PI or not getting the PI and that’s when he gets pissed off. The penalties are always very obvious and I would be pissed too.
January 19th, 2018 at 10:13 am
He could be 2 or 3 if he wasn’t an emotional basket case. It’s like on White Men Can’t Jump. Make him mad, and he plays worse.
January 19th, 2018 at 10:17 am
I will say it again to the trade crowd, why would you trade any of these players on the team. Injuries happen in the NFL, with this much talent and depth, if one goes down you still got two, however if you trade ME or DJax, if one goes down, who ya got. Keep these guys together, you got the money. DJax paid like a vet, ME on his rookie contract and Goodwin on a 3rd round contract, Hump/BoBo and Freddie Martino on UDFA contracts. which also include Brate and Auclair (and you had Charles Sims who can catch).
The problem is either the QB and/or play calling, No way you get in the redzone and can’t put up six with more consistency than this team did (ya got size, speed and hands) even though we saw some drops
January 19th, 2018 at 10:27 am
C’Mon! He STILL lets his emotions get the better of him. He got suspended for a totally dumb-a$$ cheap shot, not to mention constant whining about non-calls.
IMO, Evans regressed in 2017.
January 19th, 2018 at 10:34 am
When I click on the article I don’t get the list of WRs. All I get is the grading scale.
January 19th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
I’m not too high on a WR with a 52% catch ratio and hardly no YAC.
January 19th, 2018 at 1:03 pm
I’m not suggesting for one second that Evans isn’t a generational talent. He absolutely is, without question. I’m not like those GMC haters who look at someone they don’t like and suddenly they can’t see the talent. It’s actually because of his extraordinary talent that a trade makes sense. I’ve seen a lot of people with Evans-like attitudes become locker room problems, and quite frankly, I worry about how someone like Evans might rub off on a really good kid like Godwin, and even more about the effect he might have on someone like Bobo Wilson who seems like he would be less immune to being led down a career- and team-killing path in his on- and off-field attitude. And how long does it take for a terrible attitude to manifest itself as behavior? We’ll, we saw in that first Saints game, didn’t we?
I’m telling y’all, as good as Evans is, the long term costs of having him on the team will be measurable in slow team starts, more jackwagon penalties, and failed come-from-behind victories; and eventually, off-field issues with the roster. These problems are only just starting to show up, but Evans will continue to make them worse because he still lacks the maturity to even consider the possibility that he might be lacking maturity.
I believe that this team would be better off losing Evans’ 1,000 yards. It’s not as if all 1,000 yards vanish into thin air if he leaves. I’m sure that D-Jax, Godwin, Hump, Beats, and O.J. will be more than able to pick up the slack between them. And just imagine how many draft picks a team like the Browns would give up to have a guy like Evans on their team. They would be willing to roll the dice with ME-first, because their front office is even more short-sighted than ours.
January 19th, 2018 at 1:05 pm
Brate*, not Beats. (Stupid autocorrect)
January 19th, 2018 at 1:32 pm
Evans got alot better with his temper. The saints game was stupid af bit I place that one on Winston honestly I think it was Winston’s first real injury and the meds messed with him just like the eating a W. It was still dumb on Evans part but they r both still young n trading g Evans would be a huge mistake
January 19th, 2018 at 2:50 pm
Monken was given one major task to solve: fix Evans, who had let his emotions get the best of him too often and had frequent bouts of the dropsies.
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Evans dropped like six balls against the Giants in the rain game…and he got labeled a “dropper”. Not true at all….He had no issues his rookie season catching, and none in 2016-2017.
January 19th, 2018 at 2:50 pm
I agree ME frequently gets mugged running his routes….it’s not just the PI calls or lack thereof…it’s all the constant defensive holding and mugging.
And while I certainly agree the refs seem to give no breaks to ME this past season it seems the league decided a bit of rebalancing and the refs have been letting CB’s get away with murder…holding..interfering…
The Philly-Atlanta game was a prime example. Everybody’s eyes of course were on JJ…but I was looking for Sanu as Ryan scrambled for time and Sanu was literally tackled in the end zone before the ball was thrown. No flag no d holding.
January 19th, 2018 at 6:13 pm
I completely disagree with those that claim Evans has an attitude problem. He has an edge. Big difference. We need more of these guys, not less. The only time the guy complains is when a flag should have been thrown or when he defends his QB. He battled the dropsies in 2016 but he came back strong with very few drops in 2017. The “people” on this board that think we should trade Evans are the same geniuses that wanted Talib, Bennett and Blount run out of town. If we had all of these guys we probably would be watching our Bucs playing in 2 days.
January 19th, 2018 at 8:51 pm
Not true, cmurda. I liked Bennet and Blount. They have that “edge” you’re talking about. I was not happy when either of them were traded. I though both of those moves made the roster worse, rather than better, and we could surely benefit from having both of them back in pewter now. Talib, I was less a fan of at the time he was let go, but I’m pleased to hear that he’s matured since leaving the Bucs. Even so, I was apathetic about letting him go and inclined to trust the personnel guys in the front office in his case. Whatever choice they made regarding Talib, I was willing to be content with. So, no, I don’t make snap judgments about players, and I’ve been a big Evans supporter until this past year.
January 19th, 2018 at 9:28 pm
All the good Evans does for the team outweighs the frequent offensive pass interference calls that the refs seem to be increasingly tagging him with. Any talk of parting with him anytime soon is just foolish.