Mike Evans just finished a standard Mike Evans season, which means he wonderful 2023.
In fact, Evans was better in his first year with Baker Mayfield than he was last with Tom Brady, catching 79 passes on 136 targets for 1,255 yards and a league-high 13 touchdowns last season.
Evans played 10 years in the NFL, catching at least 70 passes in eight of those years and scoring 12 or more touchdowns five times. Famously, he never finished a season with fewer than 1,000 yards receiving.
If you're looking for signs of a decline in 30-year-old Evans' performance… you're in luck. No such metric exists, and the underlying advanced numbers all look excellent. Last year, he again ranked among the top of the league in contested catches (16-of-30) and average depth of target (15.0) while setting career highs in both yards after the catch (333) and YAC per reception (4.2). Evans is back in the mix for all 17 games in 2023, so there are no health concerns.
If I just gave you the raw numbers without Evans' name, he would be a surefire WR1 in fantasy and a likely second-round pick in almost every format. His career averages over 17 games are 84 receptions, 1,289 yards and 10 touchdowns. Evans nearly achieved those numbers last year, finishing with five fewer catches, three more touchdowns and as the WR4 overall. He has finished in the top eight at his position in six of the past eight seasons.
Essentially, he never tolerates duds: Evans has never finished outside the top 30 at his fantasy position in any season, and has finished in the top 10 seven times, making him the most reliable of the greats.
But the fantasy community is clearly tired of Evans' 1,200-12 season, because his early average draft position bears little relation to his actual resume: He's currently the WR19 by ADP, but hasn't finished that low in any season since 2017. Evans falls behind several younger, more hyped receivers who never produced at the level he's consistently reached.
Of course, this is a recurring phenomenon in fantasy of all sports. Many of us are so focused on drafting the next big thing that we end up missing out on the next big thing. the current That's big. If WR12 Drake London has an 80-1,150-8 season, people are going to be excited about the win, even if Evans goes his usual 80-1,200-10 at a more affordable cost.
Some of you will write Evans off because of his age — he turns 31 in August — but he showed no signs of slowing down last year. Absolutely not. And it's not like his peak was the product of a Tom Brady offense. The guy has caught two-thirds of his career touchdown passes from elite quarterbacks, including Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh McCown and Mike Glennon.
The last time we saw Evans in action, just four months ago, he was dominating the Lions in the postseason (8-147-1).
Evans has used his size, strength, length and separation ability to win over the last decade, and there's no reason to think 2024 will be much different than any other season of his career.
You owe it to yourself to make this fantasy legend disappear.
