Mike Evans is fresh off his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tying Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's record, and is the only player to ever do it in the first 11 seasons of his career.
The former Texas A&M Aggies pass catcher strikes fear in the eyes of defenders each and every week thanks to his excellent route-running skills and pass-catching ability.
But according to Lauren Gray of Pro Football Focus, Evans was best in the league last season at running the slant route.
"Mike Evans generated a 15.8% target rate on slants last season, the second-highest clip in his route tree. Nearly every catch turned into a big play. He secured 16 of 18 passes for 187 yards (fourth most), with all but two catches going for first downs. Seven of his first downs came on late-down targets, where he secured each one for 92 yards. Evans hauled in two touchdown passes, recorded five gains of 15-plus yards and ranked fifth in yards gained after contact (45).
"The 11th-year veteran has seen 54 slant targets over the past three seasons (fifth most), earning a 94.3 PFF receiving grade on those plays (tied for third best). He has caught 45 slants for 487 yards and 36 first downs across that span, all top-three figures."
Last season, offensive coordinator Liam Coen had a lot to do with spreading out the offense, and Evans benefited. Next year, Josh Grizzard will be calling plays and designing the offense, but isn't expected to deviate too much from what Coen started last year before he took the head coaching job in Jacksonville.