Mike Evans is the best offensive player in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, full stop.
There hasn’t been a player like him before and the Bucs will be lucky if they have another player who comes close to being as special as Evans has been throughout his entire career. Tampa Bay has watched Hall of Fame players come through the franchise before, but none have been able to do what Evans has with the teams he’s been forced to play on.
Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, and John Lynch are all Hall of Famers, but they all played as part of what is now considered to be one of the greatest defenses of all-time. What Evans is doing is more akin to Lee Roy Selmon, who played for some good teams during his career in Tampa Bay but mostly had to deal with standing out on terrible ones.
Evans has been a part of some truly awful Bucs teams, and has been given quarterbacks like Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, Jameis Winston, and Ryan Fitzpatrick but has never missed a beat. Despite subpar quarterback play, Evans reached 1,000 yards in each season of his career including this current one.
During Sunday’s win over the Panthers, Evans crossed the 1,000 yard mark for the tenth time in his career, a historic accomplishment within the context of the Bucs franchise history and one that may soon stand alone among all-time receiving records.
Evans is chasing Jerry Rice’s record of 11 straight seasons of 1,000 yards and he’s making it look easier than ever despite the offensive woes the Bucs have encountered this year. When he passed the mark late in the fourth quarter of Week 13’s win, Bucs fans were quick to shower one of the franchise’s greatest players with proper praise.
Mike Evans 1,000 yard seasons: Best memes from Bucs fans celebrating
Pour one out for the "Baker Mayfield will end Mike Evans' streak of 1,000-yard seasons" folks
— Luke Easterling (@LukeEasterling) December 4, 2023
Pretty cool.#GoBucs Mike Evans celebrating with Baker Mayfield.#CARvsTB pic.twitter.com/WM3setObIl
— rock riley (@realrockriley) December 4, 2023
Mike Evans is a Hall of Famer pic.twitter.com/yavZR3J5Aq
— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) December 4, 2023
Mike Evans just went over the 1,000 yard mark for the 10th straight season to start his career. Only player in NFL history who can say that. pic.twitter.com/kbkrBjOAiP
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) December 4, 2023
He has done it once again. Mike Evans and 1k yards. Set your calendar's to it folks.
— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 4, 2023
I’ve been saying it the last 3 years. Mike Evans is the greatest Buccaneer of all time.
— Nick John (@heynickjohn) December 4, 2023
Yes, I’m completely aware of the accomplishments of Selmon, Brooks, Sapp, Barber, etc.
Mike has balled out on good teams, bad teams, with every QB he’s played with, through injuries, etc. pic.twitter.com/xsNDDNLGuV
Mike Evans is a Hall of Fame WR.
— Kenny Morales (@KennyMoralesTV) December 4, 2023
Debate ya grandma. https://t.co/C5CxocCkc3
Three things are certain in life.
— Slaw (@JakeSlawetsky) December 4, 2023
1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Mike Evans getting a 1000 yards
Congrats Goat @MikeEvans13_ pic.twitter.com/wjeD8CrtcG
There’s a serious case building for Evans as a Hall of Famer. His sheer level of consistency speaks for itself and is made even more impressive knowing his unlucky history of quarterbacks. Tom Brady arriving in Tampa Bay allowed for a bright light the be shone on Evans but he’s always been this good and it’s high time he’s treated like one of the greatest recievers of all-time.
His pending free agency is a cloud hanging over the season, but not even that could put a damper on how excited Bucs fans were to see Evans cross a historic mark and move one step closer to an all-time record.