Buccaneers: A look at Mike Evans during the rest of the year

A small chance for Mike Evans to break the record

As it stands, Evans has 514 receiving yards on 40 receptions (12.9 yards per reception) to go along with eight touchdowns. Evans’ catch rate is at a career-high of 63.5%, but his opportunities to make big plays have been at an all-time low.

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The play-calling and the decisions by Tom Brady have been somewhat to blame, but not due to the lack of the deep ball. Brady’s accuracy and success in this aspect of the game plan have actually been an improvement over Jameis Winston‘s impressive performance last season, but that success doesn’t translate to Evans.

While Brady can find Scotty Miller, Antonio Brown, and Chris Godwin with ease, Mike Evans continues to play like the forgotten man. This is obviously because Evans draws the primary coverage, but there are numerous instances where Brady inexplicably looks Evans off or misses a wide-open pass.

Evans has been in all of the right positions to break the record, but the results haven’t been there yet.

The good news for the Buccaneer captain is that the record is still not impossible. One thousand receiving yards would be tough to reach in this offense with numerous options, but averaging 81 yards per game for the final six games would not be anything new for Evans to pull off.

If last game was any indication, the Buccaneers are trying to make a better effort of getting Evans the ball. In just the second time this season, Evans received double-digit targets, and this is a trend that has to continue for the Bucs if they hope to keep their offense on track and keep their player happy.

Tonight’s game against the Rams will reveal a lot about Mike’s position in this race against time, but Bucs fans shouldn’t count anything out with six games still left to play. Evans is a team-first guy, which is always his focus, but it wouldn’t hurt to have him break a record during this historic season for the Buccaneers.