Mike Evans Was Fat II
August 5th, 2024
Props in a strange way.
So a week ago when NFL Network came to One Buc Palace to broadcast live from training camp, NFL Network personality and former Bucs stud Gerald McCoy outed Mike Evans.
Now, a long-time Bucs teammate of Evans,’ Lavonte David has piled on.
GMC told a nationally televised audience that when Evans was a rookie, he was “fat.” (No, not “phat.”) Evans agreed as he nodded his head yes as GMC recounted Evans’ days as a rookie, and explained why he was out of shape.
Now, Lavonte David is joining in.
David, one of only two Evans teammates from his rookie year of 2014 still with the Bucs (Will Gholston is the other), appeared on a podcast with Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
Meirov asked David to name unsung NFL players (besides himself) that are worthy of more recognition. David said Evans, and then explained how Evans wasn’t in peak condition as a rookie.
“I would probably give that spotlight to Mike Evans,” David said. “Mike Evans is a very underappreciated guy. … As a teammate, as a football player, hands down will be on the greatest to play this game. …
“I’ve seen him go as a rookie, tall fat guy, to what he is right now, just one of the best players I have had the honor to play with.”
Two things here:
First, Joe found it ironic that perhaps the most underappreciated guy in the NF.L chose to pick a teammate who, until maybe the past couple of years, was grossly overlooked as a star player.
The second, of course, is that David picked a teammate.
This says all you need to know about David. Superb football player. Class human being.
The final question I ask every guest on NFL Spotlight is, "Who do you think deserves to be in the spotlight next?"
Lavonte David didn't hesitate to pick @MikeEvans13_…
"I've seen him go as a rookie, tall, fat guy, to what he is right now. Just one of the best players I've… https://t.co/QwszMWbauK pic.twitter.com/3izEMr523A
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 4, 2024
August 5th, 2024 at 6:41 am
Mike Evans has been my favorite since A&M and to be honest I never looked at him as being fat, even as a Buc rookie. His height and strengths on the field exceeded it all. He has been under appreciated for way too long. This season Mike is going to reach more goals and I cannot wait to watch him do it.
August 5th, 2024 at 7:06 am
Who is doing the editing for you guys? If you need help please look me up.
August 5th, 2024 at 8:21 am
It’s partly why Licht referring to him as “Godzilla” as a rookie made so much sense. Fat? Nah he was Texas skinny lol
August 5th, 2024 at 8:41 am
Can you imagine the Evans career accolades if say Dallas or the Jints or Iggles drafted the guy?
It’s a Buc life.
August 5th, 2024 at 8:51 am
Agreed Cobraboy.
And that is okay. We are the lucky ones to have Mike Evans on the Bucs for years. And he is one-of-a-kind on and off the field.
August 5th, 2024 at 9:22 am
I would still choose Mike Evans over Aaron Donald!
August 5th, 2024 at 11:31 am
He still reached a thousand yards his rookie year…without a good team around him.
August 5th, 2024 at 12:11 pm
Mike needs 6 more TD’s to become the first Buc to score 100 TD’s. That, to me, is just as impressive as the streak of 1000 yd. seasons. He deserves a gold jacket in his future, for sure.
August 5th, 2024 at 4:45 pm
Mike did look fat as a rookie – I remember at the time saying the Bucs would eventually probably want to move him to TE, that was purely based on his size. It would have been an interesting experiment, what if Mike bulked up to 260 or so, I wonder what the outcome would have been? I think he would have been amazing in that role, but I much prefer how things played out.
Last year, to me, Mike looked as fit and fast as I’ve ever seen him. It’s part of the reason I don’t think he’s going to fall off nearly as quickly as people think – and will still be an ALL-PRO level player for another 3-years or so before we start seeing a decline. It’s one of the reasons I was disappointed with Licht giving him such a short term deal.
BTW, last year at this time we literally had people in the comments here arguing with me that Mike was done, to just trade him for whatever we could get and save that money since we’d need to extend Godwin. No issues with the Godwin part, but what dopes to discount Evans like that. When you consider the caliber of QB, last year was Evans’ best year yet.
August 5th, 2024 at 10:07 pm
@Rod – the same couple idiots have been wanting to trade Evans every season for years.
Agreed he looked almost as fast as ever last season.
August 5th, 2024 at 11:00 pm
Hey Rod Munch! We have a QB of a caliber that knew the treasure of a hall of fame wideout to throw to. Set his all time touchdown record. Am I missing something?