FF Draft Guide 2022: Mike Evans, WR

Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans has been a portrait of consistency throughout his eight seasons in the league thus far. He hasn’t had a season with fewer than 1,000 yards and has scored 10+ times in half of his seasons. The other half includes two, eight touchdown seasons, a decent five touchdown season, and a lackluster three touchdown season. On top of that, he seldom misses games. Out of a possible 129 regular season games, Evans has appeared in 122.

2021 was business as usual for Evans. Following a mild Week 1 performance, he went off in Week 2, totalling 75 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions against Atlanta. Evans then rallied off a string of three straight games where he had 75+ yards, including a 106 yard game against Los Angeles and a 113 yard performance against Miami. In Week 7, Evans added six catches for 76 yards and three touchdowns, one of which being Tom Brady’s milestone 600th touchdown pass, in a win over the Chicago Bears.

Evans finished the 2021 regular season with 74 receptions for 1,035 yards and 14 touchdowns, setting the Buccaneers record for most receiving touchdowns in a season and most career touchdowns along the way. Despite the record setting season, Evans fantasy numbers don’t exactly jump off the page. This is where he finished in some of the more important statistical categories:

• Targets – 113 (#25)
• Target Share – 16.4% (#58)
• Target Rate – 19.2% (#69)
• Air Yards – 1,454 (#15)
• Red Zone Targets – 19 (#11)
• Receptions – 74 (#26)
• Receiving Yards – 1,035 (#21)

Even if those numbers aren’t the most impressive, Evans still scored the 2nd-most receiving touchdowns and the 6th-most fantasy points by a wide receiver in the league.

Health & Draft Analysis – Evans is a criminally undervalued receiving option. He may not be the flashiest, but he operates with lethal consistency that is guaranteed to get you points.

From a health perspective, he only missed one game last year due to a late season hamstring strain, and returned without missing a step. Our algorithm predicts an Elevated (21%) Injury Risk due to his history of hamstring injuries and a Peak (93%) Health Performance Factor. I think he is a Top 10 receiver and should be picked up in the 2nd Round.