TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mike Evans streaked into the secondary, cut outside and leaped to catch a perfect post-corner toss from Baker Mayfield.
Fans at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ indoor practice facility roared.
They’re used to Evans making all the plays but No. 13 still manages to impress everyone watching.
The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver makes it look so effortless the way he glides after the ball. His routes are smooth and precise, his hands soft. At 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, he has a powerful frame so he can outmuscle defenders or outfinesse them when he needs to.
Evans is the only player in NFL history to start his career with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Only Jerry Rice had that many at any point. Evans is aiming for 12 in a row in a year when the Buccaneers celebrate the franchise’s 50th season. There are no signs the 31-year-old is slowing down and his team goals are bigger than his personal ones.
“I’m just happy that we have a really great team and we’re using this training camp to put everything together to have one of the best seasons for the 50th,” Evans said Tuesday. “I’m excited to put on a great show for y’all.”
At a position known for players with look-at-me personalities — Tyreek Hill, Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson — Evans lets his performance do most of the talking. He’s quiet, humble and community-oriented. Evans is a four-time NFL Walter Payton Man of The Year nominee for the work he does along with his wife, Ashli, through their foundation, which empowers youth, encourages education and stands against domestic violence.
Evans joined the Buccaneers in 2014 as the seventh overall pick and has become one of the greatest players in franchise history. Evans and Chris Godwin were a big reason why Tom Brady chose Tampa Bay in 2020 and the Buccaneers ended up winning a Super Bowl that season.
From catching passes from Josh McCown and Mike Glennon as a rookie to Jameis Winston to Brady to Baker Mayfield, Evans continues to produce. He has 836 career catches for 12,684 yards and 105 touchdowns.
Evans missed three games last season due to injury and didn’t reach 1,000 yards until he caught a 9-yard pass on the final play of a 27-19 victory over the Saints that the Buccaneers needed to secure their fourth straight NFC South title.
The reaction from Evans’ teammates and the fans after that catch showed how much he’s loved.
“He always has (put the team first),” Mayfield said afterward. “That’s why you love him. That’s why we appreciate having him. We’re lucky to have him and he’s underappreciated throughout the media, the league and he’s one of one. He deserves that. Obviously, you saw the stadium erupt, the sideline erupt. You can tell how much people care about him and what that means for everybody around him.”
Some veteran players are careful about mentoring young guys who will eventually replace them. Not Evans. Or Godwin for that matter.
The Buccaneers drafted wideout Emeka Egbuka in the first round out of Ohio State. They selected Tez Johnson from Oregon in the seventh round.
“It’s constant. They’re just so fortunate from Tez to ‘Mek’ (Egbuka) to Garrett (Greene) to be able to learn from them,” Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard said. “We just had a walk through this morning and we can coach it up, but Chris and Mike were coaching up the concept just as much as myself and (wide receivers coach) ‘B-Mac’ (Bryan McClendon) were. And that’s just on the field — I can’t imagine what they talk about off the field on how to be a pro and how to conduct themselves. They couldn’t have come into a better environment for people to learn from.”
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