Mike Evans And His NFL Record
July 18th, 2021
Mike Evans
One of the few questions the Bucs have about offense this year will likely be swept under the rug if they make another Super Bowl run.
The question is, can Mike Evans extend his NFL record of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to eight?
Evans broke Randy Moss’ record last year and it took a concerted Bucs effort. Offensive players and coaches did not hide the fact that in one late-season game, the gameplan was to feed Evans constantly to get him the record.
So what about this season? Rich Hribar of Sharp Football Analysis takes a look.
With the Bucs going to a more diverse offense under Tom Brady, Evans shared the spotlight with more talent than he ever has over his career. Evans had three or fewer receptions in seven regular season games, and then in three of the four playoff games for the Bucs.
Even with the loss of an elite target share, Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown played 10 full games together with Evans still coming out on top of the trio as the primary wideout for fantasy due to his edge in targets and the types of targets he receives.
Again, Joe believes Evans’ record — extending it or ending it — will almost be an afterthought if the Bucs are in position to repeat.
Though Joe understands this record is important to Evans, we also know Evans first and foremost wants to win. And Evans probably knows that being the No. 1 receiver on a two-time Super Bowl champion will get him more run towards a potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame than just being a consistently excellent receiver.
A two-time Super Bowl winner? That would be the cherry on top the whipped cream of Evans’ NFL record.
July 18th, 2021 at 8:14 am
Hate to break to the know it all stat geeks, but Evan drew many PI calls regular season and playoffs, most notably in the SB game.
Those don’t show up on his stats. So to comment that he had three or fewer catches is irrelevant as to his dominance. Factor in the yards awarded on penalties and the stat line changes dramatically. Fantasy football is not real football. Oh, and the majority of these analysts suck.
July 18th, 2021 at 8:26 am
Mike needs to learn not to let CB’s mess w/ head (after nearly a decade in the league).
July 18th, 2021 at 8:28 am
If Brown is a bigger part of the offense this season, then defenses might focus a bit less on Evans. The extra game means just a 59 yard/game average gets to 1,000 yards. Remaining relatively injury free is the biggest factor I think.
July 18th, 2021 at 8:28 am
Yeah and you know a lot of those were on purpose so would’ve had more yardage. It’s funny it seems guys have a hard time interfering with him in the end zone because he always seems to come down with those!
July 18th, 2021 at 8:45 am
Brown and gronk not sitting out year and at full speed can hurt evans chances of getting targets
However , the chemistry between evans and brady took time last year. Almost like it was worst on team of all bradys weapons (early on).
Evans has to get rid of the dropsies
And agree- get lattimore out of his head twice a year
But They (him and brady) will be better this year. Think mike will get fewer doubles with all weapons up to speed and new receiving back out of backfield on passing down.
Mike is not 30 yet and has plenty of solid productive years left
He gets it. Especially with extra game. Dude is a warrior and already is best offensive weapon in bucs history (not counting brady)
July 18th, 2021 at 8:57 am
All depends on Mike staying healthy….if he does, he gets it…
A good plan would be to get it out of the way in the first 5 games…..200 or more yards per game will do it…..OK….maybe optimistic….so how about 1st 10 games….doable.
July 18th, 2021 at 9:03 am
Tom Brady is our QB, Evan’s streak will continue.
July 18th, 2021 at 9:06 am
With the way the ball will be distributed around, Mike should get 1000 again. The Bucs will dominate time of possession so henceforth Mike getting a 1000 should come to pass again like last year when it looked like he might not. 62.5 yards a game is not a massive amount to get for Mike.
GO BUCS!!!!
July 18th, 2021 at 9:10 am
Excuse me 58.82 for 17 games is not a massive amount for Mike to get. Let alone 62.5 in a 16 game season.
Go Mike go, just keep adding to your HOF resume.
GO BUCS!!!!!
July 18th, 2021 at 9:57 am
Literally NO ONE outside of Tampa is thumping their chest about 7 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. It’s a niche record and shows he’s consistently good but rarely great.
-His rookie season he surpassed 1,00 yards by 51 yards
-In 2017 he surpassed 1,000 yards by 1 yard
-In 2020 he surpassed the record by a whopping 6 yards
-Evans has only finished top 10 in receiving yards twice in 7 seasons
He’s consistently good and a huge red zone target but he’s rarely elite. Hope he bounces back big time in 2021
July 18th, 2021 at 10:16 am
Evans is not a diva. Sure, he’d love to break records, but it doesn’t matter as long as the team wins. He’s all about those Ws, and another SB victory on his resume would more than satisfy his ego.
July 18th, 2021 at 10:18 am
P.S. Breaking your own record is not nearly as satisfying as breaking someone else’s record.
July 18th, 2021 at 10:30 am
Mike is the #1 WR for a reason. It would be cool in fantasy if you could also pick a all around offense like with the all around defense. Super Bowls been swept under the rug.
#WeaHaventWonSh!t
July 18th, 2021 at 10:50 am
With either AB or Godwin or TJ in the slot, Tom and Mike are going off on the deep ball year two.
I hear so much about greatest defense’s of all time but not so much the offense.
Intrigued to hear some good offenses from you guys to match against the Bucs???…
July 18th, 2021 at 11:16 am
Is it greedy to want evans to get both. A super bowl ring and another 1000 yard season. Pretty sure evans is already a lock for hall of fame.
July 18th, 2021 at 11:50 am
Hey bucs bro. Relish in the fact that the saints have a qb of the future and hopefully picked up on some defense reading tips from one of the greatest of all time. That being said, the best ability is availability and evans has been as durable as they come, blocks well, recurring man of the year walter Payton nominations and has never had a bad thing said about him outside of some of the stupider sections of the fanbase. Never toots his own horn, all teammate all the time. And that was pre-brady. Get out of our site/sight “bro”…..
July 18th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
I agree with Slugglife and cannot understand why fans and even stats guru do not understand simple fact. They need to watch the games and count the number of defenders on Mike. He got almost double cover every game and get Big yards of PI every game. I also surprised that no stats website include PI for the receivers and the QB. These yards are apparently earned by receiver and QB!
July 18th, 2021 at 12:18 pm
Evans will be just fine. Totally agree there is hidden value in the flags that he is drawing. I would love to see him get more touches. When I think about ME13s game, I truly wonder why we are going to pay $16mil to another receiver not named Mike Evans.
July 18th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
@ Cull,
July 18th, 2021 at 12:28 pm
@Cull,
Sorry lady, I am not going any where. Been a Bucs fan since the late 80’s and nothing will change that, not even thin skinned fans who don’t know the league. Never said anything bad about Mike’s off field character, no reason to. I bring facts up and you talk non sense about being a good teammate.
Facts, are Mike needs to be more sure handed. His drop/pass bouncing off his hands in the NFC Championship game made the game closer than it should’ve been. How many times do we hear he ran the wrong route that caused a INT, no matter the QB?
July 18th, 2021 at 12:43 pm
Slugglife nailed the most underrated part of Evan’s game. In baseball they say a run is as good as a hit. They keep stats on that. I’d bet 10-1 that Evan’s has led the NFL in his career for drawing PIs. What’s the difference between drawing a 25 yard PI vs a 25 yard catch? Just like Evan’s did in the super bowl, he gets PI calls going down the field, and in the end zone , AB gets the 1 yard TD. He and LVD are 2 of the top3 underrated players in Bucs history and I’ve watched since 1976
July 18th, 2021 at 12:45 pm
Hard to give Evans credit for drawing flags, when he has a rep of getting Offensive PI calls against him as well. If we give him credit for the hidden yardage of a PI flag then we should deduct yards for the flags against him.
Who’s to say he’d even catch the passes he draws the flags on either? With his catch percentage being what it has been thats no given either.
July 18th, 2021 at 12:50 pm
If Evans stays healthy he continues the record. Winning takes president but don’t see why both can be achieved. GO BUCS GO EVANS!
July 18th, 2021 at 1:51 pm
Despite what Ira (love ya man!) and Simms try to sell you, Mike is the best receiver the NFL has seen since Randy Moss and Antonio Brown (he could reclaim his spot) were making folks look foolish. No one in the over 100 hundred year history of the NFL has anyone had 7 straight 1000 yard seasons. Even without considering the shaky quarterback play throughout the majority of his carreer, that is legendary stuff.
Ira stated in one of his columns that Mike’s only weakness was his relatively pedestrian catch percentage. Lo and behold, he gets an accurate quarterback and his catch percentage went up significantly over all but one of his seasons. I am seriously looking forward to Ira’s next wideout rankings. 😜
July 18th, 2021 at 1:55 pm
17 regular season games = more players reach 1,000 yard receiving and rushing totals. Evans will get it again (must stay healthy is key), but the stat will diminish in value over time. Fortunately he got 7 years in before the change.
July 18th, 2021 at 2:12 pm
I agree with @Alstottupthegut completely. Evans record is essentially unbreakable now that the era of 16 gf Ames is over
July 18th, 2021 at 2:19 pm
Evans is going to go down as one of, if not the best Buc ever. Dude is just a stud and all the flags he draws never end up on a stat sheet. The only issue he has is the multiple times he gets shutdown. Lattimore owns him and when he plays an elite CB he’s normally held with little or no yards. He’ll get his thousand yards as long as he doesn’t get hurt. Tampa is dang lucky to have a superstar like him on and off the field.
July 18th, 2021 at 3:36 pm
I agree slugglife, got to factor in the pi calls,👍
July 18th, 2021 at 3:43 pm
Evans just has to stay healthy, if he does, then he’s a lock for 1000-yards.
I still think AB will end up leading the team in receptions, but Evans will get the yardage lead.
Godwin, I believe, will have the worst stats of the three, not that it means much in this offense. Hopefully if his stats are down and the team is winning, it just makes him cheaper to resign.
Then you still got Gronk, Bernard, Fournette, OJ, Brate, Miller, Darden, Johnson… plus Ronald Jones might even catch 4 of his 16 targets.
July 18th, 2021 at 4:09 pm
Hey, Cull. So Taysom Hill is the QB of the future for the Saints?
July 19th, 2021 at 7:34 am
@BucsBro, I would have to disagree with you about Evans being elite. When you have done something in the NFL that no other receiver has ever done, ever, that makes you elite. Not Moss, Not Rice, Not AB, Not Lynn Swan, getting ust over 1000 yards ok, not bad, but to do that 8 years in a row….. in a row… that is elite, especially on the Bucs teams of the past no matter the QB.
Elite; a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society.
Mike Evans fits the literal definition.
July 19th, 2021 at 10:10 am
@Evolving,
Depends on how you define Elite, is it top 10 in production? If so that is not Evans. He’s had 2 seasons finishing in the top 10 in receiving yards. That’s with playing with Tom Brady and 5 seasons with a #1 first overall draft pick at QB.
Outside of 2016 and 2018 he’s outside of the top 10 in yards every year. He’s had a habitual problem with offensive pass interferences and drops. My posts are not meant to downplay Evans accomplishments as I love watching him play. I just think we as Buc fans tend to overhype our favorite players and not look at them in the context of comparing them to their peers.
Since Evans has been in the league Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Beckham, Hopkins, Thomas, Hill and Kelce all have more seasons finishing in the top 10 in receiving yards than Mike.
Evans is consistently good based on his production but rarely elite. Im hoping he can stay healthy ad have a huge year in 2021.
July 19th, 2021 at 9:31 pm
@BucsBro
Feel like you are cherry picking one stat on Evans and ignoring many.
Since he entered the league Evans is:
1. Only player with 1000 yards receiving each year.
2. Has the 3rd most receiving TD’s – 1 behind DeVante Adams (who had Rodgers) and 3 behind AB (who had Rothleisberger in his prime).
3. He is the active leader of Yards per Reception of any player that is going to make the HOF. Higher than AB, higher than Julio, higher than Beckham, higher than Hopkins, higher than Kelce, higher than Hill.
4. He is 6th highest active player in receiving yards per game.
So your stat that other guys have had more years finishing in the top 10 of receiving yards to me pales in comparison to the genuinely more impressive numbers I have listed above.
July 20th, 2021 at 12:10 am
Bucsbro- Feel the burn. That must have hurt. Let me ask you something. Would you rather have more yards or more touchdowns? Isn’t it the ultimate goal in football to get the ball in the end zone?