Buccaneers' Antoine Winfield Jr., Mike Evans Earn AP All-Pro Recognition
The Associated Press released their yearly All-Pro selections today and two Tampa Bay Buccaneers were listed as honorees. Bucs' all-star safety, Antoine Winfield Jr., was announced as a first-team selection, while veteran Bucs' wideout Mike Evans earned a second-team designation.
For Winfield Jr., the selection could not have meant more after he was snubbed out of being a Pro Bowler despite having a historic season that is worthy of Defensive Player of Year consideration. Through the 2023 regular season, Winfield Jr. compiled 122 tackles (6 for loss), 12 passes defensed, 8 quarterback hits, 6 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions.
AWJ also finished as the highest-graded safety according to PFF (91.2) while finishing first in sacks, first in forced fumbles, first in fumble recoveries, third in takeaways, and third in quarterback hits amongst all NFL defensive backs.
As for the Buccaneers' top wide receiver in organization history, Mike Evans' All-Pro selection will join his honor of being voted as a 2023 Pro Bowler.
Evans 2023 season saw him tied for the NFL lead in touchdowns with 13, while also having the ninth-most receiving yards with 1,255. He finished third in yards per catch at 15.9 and accumulated the third most receptions of 50+ yards in the league with three such catches.
In his tenth year out of Texas A&M, Mike Evans has yet to be held under 1,000 receiving yards, marking the longest streak in NFL history to begin a player's career. Evans' 10-straight seasons of 1,000+ yards receiving is also the second longest in NFL history behind Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's 11 and is tied for second-most 1,000-yard receiving seasons with Randy Moss - trailing once again Jerry Rice's of 14 such seasons in total. Evans, through just 10 seasons of his career, is already being viewed as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
With individual honors out of the way Winfield Jr., Evans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will now turn their attention to their Wild Card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
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