Mike Evans

Michael Lynn Evans III (born August 21, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Evans played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus first-team All-American honors after recording a school record of 1,394 receiving yards on 69 receptions, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times and was a Second Team All-Pro in 2016. Evans is the only player in NFL history to start his career with seven consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. He won his first Super Bowl championship on February 7, 2021, in a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Evans attended Ball High School in Galveston, Texas, where he played basketball, football, and ran track for the Tors athletic teams. In basketball, he averaged 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists as a senior. He only played football during his senior year, and was thus not heavily recruited by college football programs. As a senior, he earned second-team District 24-4A honors after making 25 receptions for 648 yards and seven touchdowns.

In track & field, Evans competed in the jumping events. He got personal-best leaps of 14.11 meters in the triple jump and 6.28 meters in the long jump. He also posted a 4.54 time in the 40-yard dash at football camp and was a member of the 4 × 100m and 4 × 200m relay squads.

He was recruited by Texas A&M as a wide receiver and eventually signed to play for the Aggies.

While attending Texas A&M University, Evans played for the Texas A&M Aggies football team from 2011 to 2013. After being redshirted as a freshman in 2011, he had 82 receptions for 1,105 yards and five touchdowns in 2012. On the year, he recorded three games with at least 100 receiving yards.He received freshman All-SEC honors from the league's coaches.

In the 2013 game against #1 Alabama, Evans caught seven passes for a school-record 279 yards in the 49–42 loss. He received AT&T ESPN All-America Player of the Week honors. During the game against #24 Auburn, he broke his own record after he compiled 11 receptions for 287 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2013, Evans was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection. On December 17, 2013, it was announced that Evans was selected to the 2013 AP All-America Team, First Team. Evans finished the 2013 season with 69 receptions for 1,394 yards and twelve touchdowns.

College statistics

On January 2, 2014, Evans announced that he would forgo his final two seasons of his collegiate eligibility and enter the 2014 NFL Draft. The majority of analysts and scouts projected him to be a consensus top 10 pick and a first round draft selection. He was ranked the top wide receiver in the draft by Sports Illustrated and the second best wide receiver by NFLDraftScout.com.

2014 season: Rookie year

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Evans with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, one pick after his college teammate Jake Matthews. It was the first time Texas A&M had two Top 7 draft picks in the same draft since John Kimbrough and Jim Thomason in 1941. He was the second wide receiver taken after Sammy Watkins was picked by the Buffalo Bills with the fourth overall pick. On June 12, 2014, Evans signed a four-year rookie contract worth $14.6 million, with an $8.96 million signing bonus.

Evans made his professional regular season debut on September 7, 2014 in the Buccaneers' season-opener against the Carolina Panthers, logging five receptions for 37-yards. On September 28, 2014, Evans caught four passes for 65 receiving yards, including his first career touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Mike Glennon in a 27–24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns, Evans caught seven passes for 124 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 22–17 loss. The following week, he had seven catches for 125 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 27–17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. On November 16, 2014, in a 27–7 victory over the Washington Redskins, Evans caught seven passes for 209 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He became the first rookie receiver to have three consecutive games of 100 yards and at least one touchdown since Randy Moss in 1998. He also became the youngest player in NFL history to catch for 200 or more yards in one game. Evans was also the fifth rookie of the Super Bowl era to record 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game, the first player to accomplish that feat since Anquan Boldin in 2003. He received NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance.

Evans finished his rookie season with 68 receptions for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns, setting franchise records and becoming a part of the first pair of Buccaneers receivers (alongside veteran Vincent Jackson) to receive 1,000 yards in a single season together. Evans was ranked fourth in receiving touchdowns and was 1 of 15 players to score 10 touchdowns.

2015 season

On September 20, 2015, Evans appeared in his first game of the season against the New Orleans Saints after missing the season-opener with a hamstring injury. The next week, Evans caught seven passes for 101 receiving yards in a 19–9 loss to the Houston Texans. During Week 7 against the Washington Redskins, Evans caught eight passes for a season-high 164 yards and a touchdown in a 31–30 loss. On November 8, 2015, Evans caught eight passes for 150 receiving yards in a 32–18 loss to the New York Giants. The following game, he finished with another eight receptions for 126 yards during a 10–6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. On December 17, 2015, he made a season-high nine receptions for 157 yards against the St. Louis Rams.

Through 15 games, Evans racked up 1,206 yards and three touchdowns, with an average of 16.3 yards per catch. Among sophomore wide receivers, Evans was ranked third in receiving yards (behind Odell Beckham Jr. and Allen Robinson). He was also ranked 11th in the league in receiving yards, one of only 26 players to break 1,000 yards and one of 11 players to break 1,200 yards.

2016 season

Evans started the Buccaneers' 2016 season opener, making five receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown in a 31–24 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons. On September 25, 2016, Evans caught 10 passes for 132 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 37–32 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Evans became the first player in the Buccaneers' history to catch a touchdown pass in three consecutive games to start a season. During a Week 7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Evans caught eight passes for 96-yards and two touchdowns. On November 3, 2016, he caught a season-high 11 passes for 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 43–28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He caught a pass on the sidelines which was debated as the "catch of the year" at NFL.com and suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit on the play and was placed on concussion protocol. On November 27, 2016, he caught eight passes for 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 14–5 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the fourth player in NFL history to begin his career with three consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards receiving. He was also the first receiver in franchise history with two receiving touchdowns in the first quarter of a game. On December 20, 2016, Evans was selected to the Pro Bowl, the first of his career. His selection made him the first Buccaneers receiver since Vincent Jackson in 2012 to be picked, and the first receiver drafted by the Buccaneers to be selected for the Pro Bowl since Mark Carrier in 1989. On January 1, 2017, Evans caught 5 passes for 65 yards and 1 touchdown in a 17–16 win against the Carolina Panthers tying his franchise record of 12 receiving touchdowns in a single season.

Evans finished his third season off with 96 receptions for 1,321 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 16 starts. He was ranked 29th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.

2017 season

On April 17, 2017, the Buccaneers picked up the fifth-year option on Evans's contract.

Due to Hurricane Irma, Evans and the Buccaneers had to move their Week 1 game to later in the season. On September 17, 2017, in his season debut in Week 2, Evans recorded seven receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown in the 29–7 victory over the Chicago Bears. Over the next three games, Evans had one touchdown and averaged 61 yards, before a 95-yard performance with a touchdown in the Week 6 loss to Arizona, followed by 88 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Buffalo Bills. In Week 8, Evans was held to 60 yards before a disastrous Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints. Not only was Evans held to 13 yards, he involved himself in a fight between Saints rookie Marshon Lattimore and injured teammate Jameis Winston. Evans was not ejected, but flagged for a personal foul, and later suspended one game despite an appeal. He returned with 92- and 78-yard efforts, before two more poor weeks of 25 and 33 yards. In Week 15, Evans had his first touchdown in eight weeks, en route to 79 yards in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Week 16 was Evans' only 100+ yard game of the season, 107 yards on six receptions in another loss to the Carolina Panthers. In Week 17's 31–24 win over the New Orleans Saints, Evans became the 3rd receiver in NFL history to begin his career with four consecutive years of 1,000 yards receiving after catching five passes for 55 yards. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with a team-leading 71 receptions for 1,001 receiving yards, but only five receiving touchdowns for the 5–11 Buccaneers.

2018 season

On March 9, 2018, Evans signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract extension with the Buccaneers with $55 million guaranteed.

On September 8, Evans caught seven passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in a season-opening 48–40 win over defending the NFC South champion New Orleans Saints. The next week, Evans caught ten passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in a 27–21 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. In a 30–27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in Week 3, Evans caught 6 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, breaking the Buccaneers franchise record for touchdown receptions in a career with his 35th. He eclipsed 5,000 career yards with 59 yards in Week 4 (at 25 years 40 days, the second youngest player to this mark by 113 days to Randy Moss) and after a bye week, Evans caught four passes for 58 yards in a 34–29 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, breaking Mark Carrier's Buccaneers franchise record for receiving yards in a career. The following week, Evans caught 7 passes for 107 yards in a 26–23 win over the Cleveland Browns, his 16th game with 100+ receiving yards, again breaking a Mark Carrier franchise record. Evans then led all NFL receivers in Week 8 with 179 yards (a career second-best) on six receptions in a 37–34 loss to Cincinnati, which included a career-long 72 yard reception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The next two weeks were far less successful: In Week 9, Evans had just one reception for 16 yards on 10 targets against the Carolina Panthers, and three receptions for 51 yards in Week 10. He rebounded in Week 11's 38–35 loss to the New York Giants with six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown and recovered a fumble by quarterback Jameis Winston in the end zone for another touchdown. In Week 12, he again broke the century mark with 116 yards on six receptions in the 27–9 win over the San Francisco 49ers. In the game, he passed 1,000 receiving yards on the season, joining Randy Moss and A. J. Green as the only receivers in NFL history to begin their careers with five consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons. In Week 17, during a 34–32 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Evans caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns; with that performance Evans broke the Buccaneers franchise record for receiving yards in a single season and became the youngest receiver in league history to reach 6,000 yards receiving in a career.

Evans finished his fifth season with 86 receptions for a career-high 1,524 yards and nine total touchdowns. On January 7, 2019, Evans was selected to his second Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for Julio Jones. As a result, Evans became the first Buccaneers wide receiver in franchise history to be selected to multiple Pro Bowls.

2019 season

Following a lackluster start to the 2019 season, in which he was recovering from the flu and failed to reach 100 combined yards in the first two weeks, Evans broke out during Week 3 in a 32–31 loss to the New York Giants, where he caught eight passes for 190 yards and a career-best three touchdown receptions. The following week, Evans caught four passes for 89 yards and a 67-yard touchdown in a 55–40 win over the Los Angeles Rams.After being held without a catch in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints, Evans had 96 yards and a two-point conversion in the 37–26 loss to Carolina. During Week 8 against the Titans, Evans finished with 198 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 27–23 loss, joining Roger Carr (1976) as the only players with two 190-yard receiving games in the first eight weeks of a season since the merger as well as breaking the Buccaneers' franchise record for receptions in a career previously held by James Wilder. During Week 9 against the Seahawks, Evans finished with 180 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Buccaneers lost 40–34 in overtime.The following week, in a 30–27 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Evans caught four passes for 82 yards. In the process, Evans became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 7,000 career receiving yards. In Week 12, during a 35–22 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Evans caught four passes for 50 yards. In the process, Evans joined Randy Moss as the only players in NFL history to begin their careers with six consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 yards receiving. In Week 14, during a 38–35 win over the Indianapolis Colts, Evans caught one pass for 61 yards and a touchdown but injured his hamstring during the play and left the game. On December 17, 2019, Evans was selected to the 2020 Pro Bowl, the third of his career. On December 18, 2019, Evans was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 14.

Evans finished his sixth season with 67 receptions for 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns.

2020 season

In Week 1, during a 34–23 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Evans only caught one pass for two yards and a touchdown while recovering from a hamstring injury, his first from new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. The following week, Evans bounced back with seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown during a 31–17 win against the Carolina Panthers. In Week 3, Evans posted a rare statistical line of two receptions for two receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 28–10 victory over the Denver Broncos. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Evans recorded seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown during the 38–31 win.In Week 12, against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had three receptions for 50 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 27–24 loss. In Week 15, during a 31–27 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Evans recorded over 100 yards receiving for the first time since Week 4, finishing with six receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown en route to helping the Buccaneers achieve their first winning record in a season since 2016 with their ninth win of the year.In Week 16, during a 47–7 win against the Detroit Lions, Evans recorded a season-best 10 receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns. In the process, Evans broke the Buccaneers's single season receiving touchdown record he had set twice at 12 with his 13th as well as helped the Buccaneers achieve their tenth win of the season and clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2007.In Week 17, Evans set an NFL record against the Falcons as the first wide receiver to record 1,000 yards consecutively in each season of his seven-year professional career. Evans injured his knee later in the game.

Evans finished the 2020 regular season with 70 receptions for 1,006 yards and 13 touchdowns. He broke Randy Moss's record with seven consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards.

2020 postseason

In the Wild Card Round of the 2020-21 NFL playoffs, Evans broke the franchise record for receiving yards in a playoff game, finishing with six receptions for 119 yards in a 31–23 win over the Washington Football Team. This was Tampa Bay's first playoff win since Super Bowl XXXVII.In the Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints, Evans recorded one catch for a three-yard touchdown during the 30–20 win. This was Evans' first playoff touchdown. In the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers, Evans recorded three catches for 51 yards and a touchdown during the 31–26 win.

In Super Bowl LV, Evans caught one pass on one target for a 31-yard gain during the 31–9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as drawing four penalties. This earned Evans his first championship as an NFL player.

2021 season

After a slow start in Week 1, Evans caught 5 passes for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns the following week in a 48–25 win against the Atlanta Falcons. In Week 3, during a 34–24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Evans recorded 8 catches for 106 yards. In Week 4, during a 19–17 win against the New England Patriots, Evans caught 7 passes for 75 yards. In Week 5, Evans caught 6 passes for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 45–17 rout of the Miami Dolphins. In Week 6, Evans added 6 catches for 76 yards to go along with 3 touchdowns, including the milestone 600th touchdown pass from Tom Brady late in the first quarter, in a 38–3 win over the Chicago Bears.

Regular season

Postseason

NFL records

• Most consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards receiving to begin a career – 7
• Youngest player to reach 7,000 career receiving yards – (26 years, 81 days)
• Youngest player to reach 6,000 career receiving yards – (25 years, 131 days)
• Youngest player to have 5 seasons of 1,000 receiving yards – (25 years, 95 days)
• Youngest player to have 6 seasons of 1,000 receiving yards – (26 years, 95 days)
• Youngest player with 200 or more yards in a game – (21 years, 87 days)

Buccaneers franchise records

• Most receiving yards in a season – 1,524 (2018)
• Most receiving touchdowns in a season – 13 (2020)
• Most receiving touchdowns by a rookie in a season – 12 (2014)
• Most receiving yards in a postseason game – 119 (January 9, 2021 vs. Washington Football Team)
• Most consecutive games with at least 1 touchdown reception – 5 (2020)
• Most games of 100 yards receiving in a career – 30 (2014–present)
• Most receiving yards per game in a career – 78.0 (2014–present)
• Most consecutive 1,000 yard receiving seasons – 7 (2014–present)
• Most seasons of 1,000 yards receiving – 7 (2014–present)
• Most receiving touchdowns in a career – 65 (2014–present)
• Most receiving yards in a career – 8,659 (2014–present)
• Most receptions in a career – 561 (2014–present)

Evans had a rough childhood. His mother, Heather Kilgore, gave birth to him when she was 14 years old. She was physically abused by his father, Mickey. Evans' maternal uncle, enraged by the abuse his sister endured, murdered Mickey when Evans was 9 years old. Having experienced domestic violence during his childhood, Evans and his wife Ashli founded the Mike Evans Family Foundation in December 2017 to help victims of domestic violence. His foundation has also hosted free football camps for children in his hometown of Galveston.

Evans has three children: Ariah Lynn, Amari Thomas and Mackenzie.