The NFL has become a pass-happy league with bigger, faster, and stronger receivers on the way. The collegiate game is full of talented receivers who will bring excitement to many teams in the upcoming draft. The Buccaneers have a plethora of wide receivers on their team, but the best is Mike Evans.
Mike Evans was drafted out of Texas A&M. The Buccaneers selected Evans with the number 7 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He immediately made an impact with Tampa Bay. In his rookie season, Evans recorded 68 receptions with 1,051 yards. He also had 12 touchdowns. He has gotten better each year with the Buccaneers.
Mike Evans goes about his business every week. He doesn’t complain on every play like other receivers in the NFL. He does, however, expect the referees to make the obvious calls for him when they arise. The superstars in this league get special treatment by the men in stripes, but this doesn’t always apply to Mike Evans. Why doesn’t Evans get the respect that other big-name receivers get across the league?
During his career, Evans has recorded 70+ receptions in every year but his rookie campaign. Evans has been an absolute monster for the Buccaneers since 2014. He has been the model of consistency, playing in at least 15 games every season. The Buccaneers have also used a carousel of quarterbacks during his tenure as a Buccaneer. Could the Pro-Bowl wide receiver be getting targeted by the referees because he plays for a bad team? Could it be because of Jameis Winston’s off field issues? Who knows, but it is obvious that Mike Evans doesn’t get many calls.
The NFL has focused on protecting players and making it easier for the offense to score because of all the penalties that get called on the defense. In key situations the refs have refused to call penalties for the star wide receiver for some reason. Evans gets held, pushed, and interfered with constantly. He is lucky to get one or two of those calls to go in his favor. We have watched him get frustrated numerous times during his career by the lack of calls coming his way. This is sad because guys like Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, and Julio Jones get looked at wrong, and the flags come flying from every direction. Maybe Evans will get calls as his career progresses, but it doesn’t look very promising.
