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Will Mike Evans Be Ready By Week 1? Andrew Ball provides an injury update and fantasy football outlook on Evans.
They say that the only guarantees in life are death and taxes. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is trying to push back on that claim. In his nine NFL seasons, he's never failed to hit the 1,000-yard mark. It's even more impressive when you realize that the ex-Texas A&M Aggie has only played a full season just three times.
| Season (Games) | Catches | Yards |
| 2014 (15) | 68 | 1,051 |
| 2015 (15) | 74 | 1,206 |
| 2016 (16) | 96 | 1,321 |
| 2017 (15) | 71 | 1,001 |
| 2018 (16) | 86 | 1,524 |
| 2019 (13) | 67 | 1,157 |
| 2020 (16) | 70 | 1,006 |
| 2021 (16) | 74 | 1,035 |
| 2022 (15) | 77 | 1,124 |
As consistent as he is with his production, Evans also has a fairly consistent injury history. Several times over the course of his career he's suffered from a soft-tissue injury, like a groin pull or strained hamstring. It's never forced him to miss an extended portion of a season, but rather a game or two here and there. His longest absence is just three games, back in 2019.
With another injury, fantasy managers need to know if the four-time Pro Bowl receiver will be healthy enough to suit up for Week 1.
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Mike Evans Injury Update For Fantasy Football
Evans was set to make his preseason debut on Saturday, sharing the field with new quarterback Baker Mayfield, but the receiver ultimately never saw a snap. Coach Todd Bowles said the team's all-time leading receiver is dealing with a groin injury.
Bowles did hint that if it had been a regular season game, the 30-year-old would have been out there. It sounds like he'll be ready to suit up against the Minnesota Vikings, but the situation is worth tracking as the clock ticks closer to September 10th.
Mike Evans 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
The Tampa Bay offense in 2022 was not a fun time. The now-retired Tom Brady finished with the worst QBR rating (52.5) of his illustrious career and only threw for 25 touchdowns, down from 43 the year prior. As a team, the Bucs only scored 18.3 points per game. Due to their struggles, the fantasy output of Mike Evans lagged behind the other elite wide receivers in the league.
And yet, Evans' per-game average of 74.9 yards ranks right in the middle of his nine-year career. The average was boosted by his Week 17 performance (10/207/3) but there was a stretch of games just before that WR1 finish where he was nearly unplayable for fantasy managers. Evans still finished the season as the WR17 in PPR scoring, despite missing two games. It was the second-worst finish of his career but would easily outperform his 2023 ADP, which is currently the 31st wide receiver off the board.
Evans may just be quarterback-proof. Brady is the greatest of all time, but even he struggled in his age-45 season. In the year that Jameis Winston threw 30 interceptions, his QBR was higher than Brady's score last season. Outside of those two, Evans had Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, and Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing him passes. Baker Mayfield can manage to throw accurate deep balls to the 6-foot-5 receiver.
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