Mike Evans was a disappointment last year, failing to build on his promising rookie season. He scored 12 touchdowns in his first year, but just 3 last year. And he led the league in drops. He just wasn’t quite the same guy.
But Evans definitely has the potential to re-emerge as a special, top-10 receiver, and he also showed that ability at times. He had three monster games last year – 8 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown at Washington, 8 catches for 150 yards against the Giants, and 9 for 157 at St. Louis.
It’s not easy going for 150 yards in an NFL game, and Evans did it three times.
In the last 30 years, only 31 other wide receivers have gone over 150 yards three times in the same season. Some have done it multiple times in their career. But almost all are really good receivers who had really good careers.
Lean here is to go ahead and invest in Evans in 2016 (along with the other three wide receivers who did this last year – I’ve got all of these guys in bold).
| RECEIVERS WITH THREE 150-YARD GAMES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No |
| 1995 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 5 |
| 1997 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 5 |
| 1986 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 4 |
| 1995 | Isaac Bruce, St.L. | 4 |
| 2003 | Randy Moss, Minn. | 4 |
| 2011 | Victor Cruz, NYG | 4 |
| 2012 | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 4 |
| 2015 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 4 |
| 2015 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 4 |
| 1988 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 3 |
| 1989 | Henry Ellard, Rams | 3 |
| 1989 | Sterling Sharpe, G.B. | 3 |
| 1989 | Webster Slaughter, Clev. | 3 |
| 1990 | Andre Rison, Atl. | 3 |
| 1990 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 3 |
| 1993 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 3 |
| 1993 | Tim Brown, Rdrs. | 3 |
| 1994 | Henry Ellard, Wash. | 3 |
| 1995 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 3 |
| 1997 | Yancey Thigpen, Pitt. | 3 |
| 1998 | Randy Moss, Minn. | 3 |
| 1999 | Marcus Robinson, Chi. | 3 |
| 2000 | Torry Holt, St.L. | 3 |
| 2002 | Terrell Owens, S.F. | 3 |
| 2003 | Torry Holt, St.L. | 3 |
| 2004 | Javon Walker, G.B. | 3 |
| 2005 | Santana Moss, Wash. | 3 |
| 2005 | Steve Smith, Car. | 3 |
| 2006 | Donald Driver, G.B. | 3 |
| 2007 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 3 |
| 2009 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 3 |
| 2010 | Dwayne Bowe, K.C. | 3 |
| 2011 | Steve Smith, Car. | 3 |
| 2011 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 3 |
| 2012 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 3 |
| 2013 | A.J. Green, Cin. | 3 |
| 2013 | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 3 |
| 2013 | DeSean Jackson, Phil. | 3 |
| 2013 | Josh Gordon, Clev. | 3 |
| 2014 | Jeremy Maclin, Phil. | 3 |
| 2014 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 3 |
| 2014 | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 3 |
| 2015 | Allen Robinson, Jac. | 3 |
| 2015 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 3 |
—Ian Allan