Another push starts now.
Mike Evans is a Hall of Fame receiver still in his prime.
Just look at how Evans performed once he returned from injury last season. One could argue he was the most productive receiver in the league with 48 catches in those final seven games.
But there’s more for Evans to accomplish in order for him to go down as one of the greatest receivers of all-time — elite of the elite. And Joe knows that reality lives in Evans’ mind.
As fans know, Evans will break the all-time record this year for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons this year if he hits the mark. That would be 12 straight years, one better than Jerry Rice. But Joe lives in reality. Years from now clowns in high NFL media places will claim Evans needed a 17th game to match Rice’s record last year and will try to detract from Evans’ greatness.
When it comes to total catches, Evans will never become a guy who hauls in a historic number of balls. That hasn’t been his game. However, he has a great chance to become a legend of legends — and shutup any future morons — when it comes to touchdown catches.
Evans has 105 career TD receptions. Only six receivers in NFL history have more: Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison and Larry Fitzgerald. Evans is 16 TD catches behind Fitzgerald.
Catching Fitzgerald, who played 17 seasons, would make Evans an undeniable first-ballot Hall of Famer, Joe believes. Fitzgerald is eligible for the Hall of Fame this year for the first time and seems to be a slam dunk guy to get in immediately.
Joe’s not saying Evans has more to prove, only noting that he truly can reach NFL deity level with two more strong seasons. Joe’s banking on Evans’ awareness of this fueling his desire to keep playing.
As for today, Joe’s looking for Evans to get a lot of targets and an extra deep shot or two in Josh Grizzard’s tweaked offense.
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