Down to the Wire: Is Mike Evans' NFL Record Streak About to End?
Mike Evans is the only player in NFL history to record eight consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start his career. Now in his ninth season, Evans has just 805 yards receiving so far this year. So with 4 games remaining, and the Buccaneers' offense continuing to sputter, with his target share diminishing in recent weeks, it's fair to pose the question: Is Mike Evans' NFL record streak about to come to an end?
Over the course of his 8-year career, Mike Evans' combination of talent, production, and consistency has been something to marvel at.
Aside from the 2022 Lombardi Trophy, it's also been one of the few highlights for a Tampa Bay fanbase that has seen its fair share of low moments over the past decade-plus.
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Mike Evans was selected with the 7th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, and he was the first player ever drafted by Jason Licht as a general manager. Evans was the second receiver taken that year, behind Sammy Watkins (BUF) and ahead of Odell Beckham Jr (NYG).
Evans immediately burst onto the scene in Tampa and put together an outstanding season for a rookie wide receiver. He finished the year with 68 receptions, 1,051 receiving yards, and 12 TDs. Had it not been for OBJ's outrageous rookie season (91 catches, 1,305 yards, and 12 TDs), Evans would have been a shoe-in for offensive rookie of the year.
It's worth mentioning that Odell Backham Jr. had a more talented team, and a more stable environment around him during his first year in the league. For Beckham Jr., the biggest advantage was that he had Eli Manning as his quarterback — just two years removed from a Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady in his prime — while Mike Evans was catching passes from Josh McCown.
2014 was nine years ago. And as is the case in professional sports, it's all about 'what have you done for me lately?'. And all Mike Evans has done in the eight seasons since his rookie season is to continue to produce at an incredible rate. Touchdowns, receptions, big plays, big blocks... and a boatload of receiving yards. Not only that, but Evans has done it with a historically great level of consistency.
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Prior to Evans, Randy Moss was the only NFL player to ever start his career off with seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Evans is currently in pursuit of his ninth such season.
Which is a big reason why — despite some really dark days (more like years) in Tampa Bay — he is on a path that I expect will eventually lead to Canton, Ohio, with him being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But for now, I want to focus on a more immediate individual goal for Mike Evans. Which is for him to continue his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Not only is that attainable, but it's also very much within his grasp.
But it all comes back to the 'what have you done for me lately?' question.
This season, Evans is averaging 67.1 receiving yards per game. And over his last five, he's putting up just 45.6 yards per contest. The diminishing chemistry between him and Brady has been a growing concern for Tampa Bay's offense. But the fact is, no feature of the offense has shown any sort of chemistry this season. This is why I don't believe there is necessarily something broken in terms of the connection between Tom Brady and Mike Evans — I believe there is something broken with the Buccaneers' offense as a whole.
And if that doesn't change over the course of these last four games of the season, then Mike Evans' incredible streak will more than likely come to an abrupt end. And if that does happen, it will represent yet another fragment of success dissolving into the atmosphere for this Buccaneers' team.
In order for Evans to keep his streak alive, he will need to accrue a minimum of 195 receiving yards over the remaining four games this season. Let's call it 50 yards per game to be safe. Historically, that would be easy money for Mike. But in 2022? Anything and everything related to moving the football in a positive direction feels like a daunting task for this group.
Compared to his first eight seasons in the league, Evans' likelihood of reaching the 1,000-yard mark in 2022 is on fragile ground. Not to mention, he'll more than likely need to remain healthy for this home stretch of games in order to gain the 195 yards he needs — which is never a sure thing in this league.
In previous years with Tom Brady at the helm, and the team's post-season status secured for the final stretch of regular season games, customizing the game plan to ensure a given player could reach his individual milestones was not out of the question. But this year, with all of their struggles, the Bucs don't have the luxury of worrying about individual accolades.
They need to win.
That said, the beauty of this scenario is that in order for the Bucs to win and build some momentum en route to another postseason berth, then Mike Evans is going to need to make an impact. At least more than what we've seen over the past 5 games.
But can he do it? Will he do it?
We're about to find out.
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