Mike Evans: The Greatest Receiver No One Talks About

Mike Evans entered the league in 2014 and has done nothing but produce. His streak of 1,000-yard seasons has been a passing-talking point in NFL circles but when the best receivers in the league are talked about, his name is never mentioned. Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, and Ja’Marr Chase among others are mentioned first and Evans gets left out. However, if we look at what Evans has done in his career, he should be talked about more than he is.

Mike Evans: Career At A Glance

Evans has had 10 straight seasons of 1,000 yards receiving. This trails only the great Jerry Rice for consecutive seasons. While there are receivers who have more career-receiving yards, no one has been as consistent as Mike Evans. In terms of career-receiving yards, no one is going to top Rice. However, Evans is in the stratosphere of some other legends. After week 14, Evans sits at 11,445 receiving yards and 91 touchdowns in his career. Here are the careers of some other legends.

Randy Moss: 15,292 receiving yards and 156 touchdowns

Terrell Owens: 15,934 receiving yards and 153 touchdowns

Larry Fitzgerald: 17,492 receiving yards and 121 touchdowns

Calvin Johnson: 11,619 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns

Marvin Harrison: 14,580 receiving yards and 128 touchdowns

While Evans still is behind a lot of these players, he still has plenty of years to play in the league. Even if he no longer gets the 1,000 receiving yards, we have seen older veterans contribute to a team in impactful ways.

Mike Evans Career Accolades

Part of the reason that Evans is often underappreciated is that he has never been the best receiver in the league in his career. This means that his individual accolades aren’t as great. Mike Evans was third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2014. He has made four Pro Bowls but only one Second Team All-Pro in 2016. It makes sense as the likes of prime Julio Jones and Antonio Brown were dominating the league but it is odd that he has never been able to break through.

Then there is the Super Bowl wins. While Evans has those, Tom Brady was the focal point of all of those wins. While people recognize that Evans was a part of it, everyone focuses on what Brady did in order to win yet another championship. The good news for Evans is that his career is not done and some believe he could pick a new team in free agency. This would give him the ability to choose a quarterback that could help him get another 1,000-yard season.

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How Will He Be Remembered?

When it is all said and done, I have Evans on par with Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson. Based on how the careers of other wide receivers have gone, I think he ends up with similar stats. The Super Bowl wins give him a leg up on those two but the real question is whether he can catch the next group. Could he get another 4,000-6,000 yards in his career and top the likes of Moss, Harrison, and Owens? It is a tall task but Mike Evans has shown that he is nothing but consistent. I hope more people around the league start to talk about Evans. We have been spoiled with great receivers and Evans has gotten lost in the shuffle but he is another on the list of elite receivers of the past decade.