ESPN released its annual wide receiver rankings, voted on by NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. It’s the latest installment in their ongoing positional rankings series, which has been rolling out position by position over the past few weeks.
Mike Evans, who will be 32-years-old when his twelfth NFL season begins in September, still commands the respect of those around the league. Evans landed at No. 9 on ESPN’s WR rankings, and was ranked as high as No. 5 by the anonymous voters.
The only players listed above Evans were Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Malik Nabers, and Nico Collins.
Evans, along with Hill, were the only two players over 30 represented on the list, demonstrating their seemingly ageless dominance.
“If you’re trying to win one game or win on third down, you’re still picking him really high,” an NFL general manager said of Evans, per ESPN. “He’ll decline eventually but I haven’t seen any signs of it. He’s still a beast.”
The Buccaneers are finally earning league-wide respect in NFL rankings
Anyone who has followed the Buccaneers knows that for years, the team has constantly been overlooked by the national media and the NFL fandom as a whole.
Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is Lavonte David, who has produced at an elite level throughout his entire career, yet has been selected to just one Pro Bowl.
The team has long been home to some of the league’s most underrated players, but it seems as though that tide is finally turning.
In addition to Evans earning his well-deserved spot inside the top 10 at his position, several other Buccaneers were named as top players at their respective positions.
Tristan Wirfs earned the prestigious No. 1 overall spot on the offensive tackle list, and seeing Wirfs get the recognition he deserves for his performance, rather than flying under the radar like players in the franchise’s past is gratifying.
Baker Mayfield was named as the No. 9 quarterback in the NFL. Just a few short years ago, Mayfield’s career was in limbo and Tampa Bay took a flier on him with a one-year, $4 million deal. If you told Tampa Bay then that Mayfield would soon be viewed as a top 10 quarterback in the NFL, they’d be ecstatic.
Vita Vea also earned his flowers, with scouts and executives ranking him as the No. 9 defensive tackle in the league.
David, who was mentioned earlier as perhaps the poster child of being underrated and under-appreciated, came in as the No. 7 overall off-ball linebacker, and ranked as high as No. 3 in the ESPN rankings.
Needless to say, the league has grown to respect the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. Perhaps it’s all the winning they’ve been doing—it’s pretty hard to ignore a team when they’ve won four consecutive division titles and earned five consecutive playoff berths, including a Super Bowl championship.
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