Could Mike Evans become a top three wide receiver this season?
2015 was seen as a letdown of sorts for Mike Evans, but it’s important to keep his sophomore season in context. It appears that a lot of the fantasy community is also on board with a more productive 2016, as Evans’ overall ADP currently resides in the low to mid-20’s.
After a rookie season that saw Evans post 1,051 receiving yards to go along with 12 touchdowns, expectations were high in 2015. The talented receiver actually topped his yardage total from the previous season, by recording 1,206 yards. The glaring issue came from a lack of touchdowns (three) as well as some nagging issues with catch percentage.
The disparity between yardage and touchdowns didn’t solely fall on Evans’ shoulders, as the Buccaneers actually finished fifth in the league in offensive yardage. This put them ahead of even the New England Patriots. While Dirk Koetter’s offense certainly racked up the yards, the Buccaneers ranked 20th in points per game, which made all of those big plays futile in nature. To further complicate this issue, rookie Jameis Winston had the league’s second-worst red zone efficiency.
Tampa Bay moved on from Lovie Smith, but the offense will be entering its second season under Koetter, who assumed head coaching duties. This should only help Evans and Winston develop a dangerous rapport in 2016. If Winston can dial in the deep ball, Evans could return to his scoring ways from 2014.
New offensive coordinator/receivers coach Todd Monken has put in a lot of work this off-season with Evans, which centered around on catching the ball first. If Evans continues to put an emphasis on this overlooked facet of being a receiver, I’d expect a big year.
Mike Evans turns 23 in August and he’s just eight months older than his quarterback, Jameis Winston. These two have worked diligently this off-season to develop a connection that looks poised to breakout in 2016. Checking in as a top eight fantasy receiver is not out of reach this season.
Adam Sutton is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Adam, follow him @DraftStars_Adam. You can find more of Adam’s work at DraftStars.net.
