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Mike Evans Needs To Fulfill His Potential

By James Yarcho

Dec 17, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) prior to the snap in the second half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams won 31-23. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) prior to the snap in the second half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams won 31-23. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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For what started out as an extremely promising career, Mike Evans had his share of troubles in 2015. The Buccaneers won’t become contenders until Evans takes the next step.

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The Buccaneers are on the cusp of having their version of “the triplets”. Jameis Winston showed all the signs that he is the future, and the unquestioned leader, of this team. Doug Martin had one of the best seasons in the NFL for a running back. Mike Evans? Well, let’s just say 2015 was a bit of a let down after a rookie of the year caliber 2014.

Fans witnessed it, and complained about it incessantly on social media: the drops. It seemed as if every time we turned around, Evans was dropping another critical pass.

Nov 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) catches the ball and is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles free safety Malcolm Jenkins (27) during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers won 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) catches the ball and is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles free safety Malcolm Jenkins (27) during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers won 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

On top of that, we had the constant whining and complaining to refs for a flag. Instead of getting calls in his favor, Evans was flagged consistently for offensive pass interference. These are both things that must be cleaned up and Evans knows it.

Winston and Evans have already been working in the off-season at continuing to develop their chemistry. If they want to be one of the best quarterback-wide receiver combos in the league, they have a long way to go. The deep ball wasn’t there on a number of occasions, primarily due to Winston overthrowing receivers. Evans only accounted for three touchdowns in 2015, compared to twelve in his rookie season. He also only had a 50% catch ratio, posting 74 receptions on 148 targets. Again, not all of those are on Evans, but plenty of them are.

I certainly believe 2015 wasn’t indicative of Evans’ potential or future in this league. This certainly isn’t a Michael Clayton situation by any means, but we need to see growth. We need to see maturity. No more crying to officials to try to get flags. That attitude has put a target on Evans’ back and he needs to get it removed. How? By doing his job. Catch the ball, and if he doesn’t, don’t go looking for a bailout. Once he becomes more consistent, the flags will come – when justifiable.

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Evans still possesses plenty of untapped potential and if he can enter the 2016 season healthy, and in Koetter’s offense a second year in a row, the sky is the limit. We know he has the talent to be a pro bowl caliber receiver; it’s simply putting it all together for a complete season.

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