“That’s The Difference With Mike Evans”
June 29th, 2025
Back at the 2017 Pro Bowl in Orlando, Joe was lucky enough to chat 1-on-1 after a practice session with Andy Reid.
The subject was DeSean Jackson, who would become a Buccaneer two months later.
Reid explained to Joe how Jackson was a truly historic receiver for his ability to track deep balls in the air and effectively change his running speed — faster or slower.
That’s why Jackson’s career average of 17.6 yards per catch ranks second-best among receivers whose careers were in the 1990s or later.
Joe was reminded of Reid’s running lesson while listening to the podcast of retired Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith, Sr., a longtime Bucs rival during his days with the Panthers.
Smith explained that one Hall of Fame trait of Mike Evans is the consistency of his route speed. He’s neither fast nor slow, Smith said, just underappreciated for what he brings to his quarterback.
“What [Evans] does that a lot of people don’t do, is whatever speed he gets to, he’s able to maintain it consistently. And that’s the difference with Mike Evans that’s helped him,” Smith said. “You have some people, they start off fast and they start to teeter at the end. You got some people who speed up and get stronger at the end. “Mike Evans, if he’s 0-to-7, he’s 7 the whole way. And that’s very, very difficult to do, but unique. And that’s what has helped Mike Evans.”
That speed consistency is one reason Evans has been successful, as Cam Newton says, with all kinds and levels of quarterbacks.
Smith noted that Bucs rookie Emeka Egbuka, who Smith ranked as the second-best receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft, won’t be a guy to ever replace Evans because he runs much differently.
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June 29th, 2025 at 9:46 pm
I love Mike.
Steve Smith always talks some crazy gibberish.
June 29th, 2025 at 10:02 pm
Replace Mike Evans???? LOL – Good Luck with that….
Even the great Randy Moss couldn’t come close to matching the consistency Evans has shown throughout his entire career….
Jerry Rice stands alone as the greatest WR the NFL has ever or will ever see…
And ME13 is about to surpass one of Jerry’s most impressive feats – 11 consecutive 1000 yard seasons – an NFL record that has stood for 29 years.
June 29th, 2025 at 10:13 pm
Haha yeah Mike Evans does a lot of things at an elite level.
I’m sure Egbuka is gonna be great but could be a very long time before we see another Evans in Tampa, if we are lucky enough to see another like him at all.
June 29th, 2025 at 10:54 pm
Egbuka excels in the slot Mike Evans excels on the outside. But Egbuka can also play outside if needed. I don’t see any reason why Egbuka can’t be a consistent 1,000 yards receiver. In my opinion Egbuka has the potential of being a great WR. I think he shines from day one.
June 29th, 2025 at 11:36 pm
We need to not try to replace or find someone to be the same as Evans, just find someone good within their own talent. Evans is not replaceable, he is once in a lifetime, we need to keep him operational till the very end. He may need more breaks and more time on the sideline and we need to be quick to spot those players who want to take him out. He needs protection from evil doers and eager over achievers on defense. Evans needs to be taken out of the game once we are significantly ahead. We have plenty of guys that need reps.
June 29th, 2025 at 11:39 pm
steve smith was an uber elite receiver, so any receiver analysis could be very legit and worthy of opening your ear to…
however, the rest of his opinion could be in one ear and out the other…
also he was a buc hater, being a career panther, so any negativity about the bucs, i kinda slot it in with a cam jordan type bucs comment (almost…lol)…
but when discussing wide outs, he’s usually on point…
yet, if they let him talk too long he usually puts his foot in his mouth…ha…
give him credit tho, as a receiver he was spectacular…i’ve seen this guy put in so much work on the field vs. the bucs
June 29th, 2025 at 11:41 pm
i forgot to get to the point…….lol
it’s an interesting take from him that mike holds his speed consistently…something a true pro might recognize, that even a hardcore fan glosses over…
so yes mike is special…especially when the compliment comes from a panther
June 30th, 2025 at 1:30 am
Jerry Rice running a route was very similar. He was a better runner than Mike, but he always glided at the same speed. A QB’s timing would rarely be off with Jerry, or Mike now as well.
For a QB, getting that down with receivers down is one of the most difficult tasks they have. Having their guy always where he’s supposed to be at each point of the route is a massive boost to confidence and performance.
After all, even Johnny Manziel and Josh McCown looked good when they were throwing to Mike.
June 30th, 2025 at 4:28 am
Mike is definitely underappreciated by the sports media, but not with we Buc fans and the entire team. We all know how good Mike is. I can’t think of anyone on the team at this time that could replace Mike. He is the heart and soul. Love him!
June 30th, 2025 at 4:36 am
Don’t think I would want Smith’s take on much of anything.
Go Bucs!
June 30th, 2025 at 5:37 am
Dear Bucs-
Let’s get Mike a second Super Bowl ring this year! He definitely deserves it. For the fans and Bowles and Licht too. You have the talent. Now go out and EXECUTE.
June 30th, 2025 at 5:48 am
Stpetematt – Absolutely!
June 30th, 2025 at 7:04 am
When Steve Smith talks playing WR I tend to take whatever he says as unwritten law.
June 30th, 2025 at 7:30 am
Could someone check the amount of plays played for Evans compared to other All Pro receivers………. I would expect it to be slightly less as he is climbing the age ladder.
June 30th, 2025 at 8:51 am
Evans is the reason why johnny fooootball was even looked at. I think it was Rice that noted Evans running as effortless, how he can glide like Jerry and that goes along with what Smith says about maintaining running speed. To me the biggest difference between Rice and Evans is that Rice caught balls from 2 HOFers for the majority of his career, and he could have had the starting record for 1000 yd. seasons but just missed it his rookie year. Evans has had a who’s who of QB’s throwing the ball to him. He’s gotten a lot of offensive PI penalties called on him that has negated a lot of yards and TD’s. I think his body of work stands up against anyone, including Rice, they are just different players from different times but have mutual respect.
June 30th, 2025 at 10:14 am
Joe included a super nugget on DeSean Jackson. No one else keeps intel from Andy Reid in his back pocket for many years.
Hadn’t heard that stuff about Evans’ gliding. Makes sense. He’s never been considered fast but has always been a deep threat.
On a more general level, we fans get an idea of player speed from the Combine and other reported numbers. But those are all rookie stats. How much do players, especially WRs and DBs, change or slow down over their careers? And how do they stay competitive as their numbers go down, especially when younger, faster and stronger new guys are chasing them?