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When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Mike Evans with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, they didn't expect an immediate impact -- it was obvious he was a bit of a raw prospect who didn't yet have a good grasp of all the intricacies of playing receiver at the NFL level. But seven games into his NFL career, Evans had a breakout game.
Against the Cleveland Browns, Mike Evans went off. He caught seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 targets. He did that against Joe Haden, against Justin Gilbert and against Buster Skrine -- no one in Cleveland's secondary could stop the 6'5" receiver.
And those stats don't even do his full performance justice. Evans should have had another 23-yard catch in the fourth quarter, but the refs jobbed him and Lovie Smith for some reason didn't throw the challenge flag. And on at least two occasions Evans had nothing but green grass between him and the endzone when Mike Glennon underthrew him. A 200-yard game would not have been unjustified, here.
Mike Evans is going to be a star in this league -- he's playing better every week, and his combination of size, speed and excellent hands definitely translate to the NFL. It's just a shame that he's playing on such a terrible team.
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