Teams knew he was getting the ball. And still defenses couldn’t stop Mike Evans.
You want to know the sign of a superior receiver? When a defense knows the guy is going to be targeted and they are helpless to shut him down.
And that’s just what Evans did last year. Handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp crunched the numbers of when Evans returned to the lineup in Week 12 after missing four games with a bad hamstring.
How did Evans respond when the team needed him, reeling from a four-game losing streak? He was dominant, notes Sharp.
Keeping his 1,000-yard streak intact, Evans took off when he returned to the lineup without [Chris] Godwin available.
Returning to the lineup in Week 12 from a hamstring injury, Evans was targeted on 29.7% of his routes with 3.05 yards per route run.
Only Puka Nacua (3.91) averaged more yards per route than Evans over that span.
Evans also had 5 touchdowns after his return.
Sharp also noted that Evans’ 5.3 catches per game last season was his most for a season since 2018 which was also Dirk Koetter’s final season.
So when the chips were down for the Bucs, they turned to the best receiver in franchise history. And Evans delivered, just like you would expect a Hall of Famer to do.
