With the 7th pick in the Draft Tampa Bay Picks:
- Updated: May 8, 2014
Why it Works: Evans will be a welcome addition with either QB for the Bucs. The way he attacks the ball will help worth the transition to the NFL. Tampa just filled a monster need.
Draft Day Grade:B+
Mike Evans, WR, 6-5, 230, Texas A&M
Key stats: Averaged 75.5 catches over the past two seasons; Had 1,394 yards (20.2 ypc) and 12 TDs in 2013.
Strengths: A terror on the sidelines and in the red zone. … Has very good hands and snatches the ball with relative ease. … Evans should catch his share of touchdowns early on in his career. … Very physical and has great ball skills. … Catches ball at highest point and really uses his large frame to dominate defensive backs. … Plays faster than his 40 time would indicate. … Uses his long arms to fight away tacklers while running after catch.
Weaknesses: Has had a few too many concentration drops. … Is a bit raw in his route running. … Not especially quick and could have trouble with big physical corners on the next level. … Is a long-strider and doesn’t separate with speed or quickness, but with strength (sometimes illegally). Lined up almost exclusively on the right side. … Runs the majority of his routes at Texas A&M outside the hash marks. … Needs to build on his route-running tree.
Conclusion: Evans is a bit raw, but a physical nightmare for opposing defenses. If he refines his route running and becomes more of a threat on intermediate routes inside the hash marks, he will become very tough to handle. … Many of his productive plays were sandlot-like plays made when Manziel extended plays and lofted jump balls to Evans.
NFL comparison: Vincent Jackson.