Buccaneers fantasy talk: Mike Evans behind A.J. Green per Pro Football Focus

Despite Pro Football Focus and their opinion, the Buccaneers Mike Evans is a safe fantasy bet, more so than A.J. Green.

Buccaneers fans, I am sure most of you play Fantasy Football. I have been doing it for over 25 years now, as a fossil that did it before it was done on computers. It’s a pastime for many of us and it’s a booming industry. During this time off for the players, fantasy players are setting their draft boards thinking this may finally be the year that they win it all.

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Well it’s time to start thinking strategy. First, take a listen to this week’s Walking the Plank podcast. They take an interesting look at draft strategy with regards to quarterbacks in particular. James comes from a two quarterback league, which aligns his strategy quite different from David’s. Take a listen for a very interesting discussion.

More from The Pewter Plank

Pro Football Focus gets in on the fantasy action as well. Not only do they go into advanced metrics, they take a look at things from a fantasy perspective. They took a detailed look at Mike Evans vs. A.J. Green to determine who they would prefer on their fantasy team.

They chose A.J. Green. Now, both players are terrific wide receivers and are worthy of roster spots. PFF is certainly entitled to their opinion. However, there are a couple of reasons why I would choose Evans.

First of all, they gave Green the edge based on their situations. Take a look:

"Advantage: Green. While the Bengals addressed offensive positions in a more complementary fashion, the same can’t be said about Tampa, who brought in not one, but two pass-catchers that need to see targets."

Just because the players the Bucs brought in, like DeSean Jackson, are marquee players, that doesn’t mean they aren’t complementary. Jackson’s ability to make plays down the field will open up plays for Evans in the short/intermediate game. O.J. Howard down the seam will open things up on the outside.

Will Evans’ targets go down? Probably. But his catch rate should go up with much of the coverage rolled away from him. He doesn’t have to match last year to be fantasy gold.

Don’t forget the age and durability factor. Green will be 29 this year, and Evans will be 24. Combine that with the fact that Green is coming off a hamstring problem, and you may see a decline there. Receivers need their legs, it’s a pretty important part of their game. Typically, a player doesn’t have just one hamstring problem. They typically come back. Last season could have been just the first season that Green misses games.

Don’t forget about our quarterback either. The national media likes to look past Jameis Winston, but we know better, don’t we? Comparing Winston to Andy Dalton, in ESPN scoring, Dalton scored a whopping four more points than Winston last year. Dalton took a step back in touchdown production last year (from 25 down to 18). Winston jumped from 22 to 28. He is going to get better, but he will not forget his chemistry with Evans.

Next: Battle for third running back

Evans is the way to go. It’s not that Green is a bad choice by any stretch, but Evans gets the edge from me. Do you agree?

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