Davante Adams Motivates Mike Evans
August 12th, 2025
Joe heard the following and immediately became obsessed with receiver Davante Adams having another 1,000-yard season for his new team, the Los Angeles Rams.
Adams was a 1,000-yard guy playing for both the bumbling Raiders and the miserable Jets last year. That was his fifth consecutive season of 1,000 or more yards. Along with legendary Bucs receiver Mike Evans, the six-time Pro Bowler, is a member of the 2014 NFL Draft class.
Host Kay Adams (no relation) of Up & Adams told Evans last week that Davante Adams said on here show he gets frustated because he trails Evans in statistical categories: “I can’t make up ground on this guy,”
That got Evans would up on how he tracks his draftmate and it drives him.
“He motivates me so much,” Evans said of Adams. “All the top guys motivate me, but especially a guy in my draft class who got so much history. I’ve gotten to see his work ethic really, you know, pay off. We were at the rookie premiere, ironically enough, and he was talking about how he felt like he should have be up for the Belitnikoff [award] and how confident he was. And his numbers were crazy; it’s just that he was at a smaller school. I watched him play at college, too. He was at Fresno, he was unbelieveably good. And he plays basketball. So we’re similar in our mindset and we’re true athletes. We can play multiple sports.”
Evans is a competitive dude, and perhaps Adams staying and thriving in the league will help further extend Evans’ career.
Joe does not discount Evans’ desire to the unquestioned best of his draft class. Currently, Adams leads Evans in total catches. Evans has never been named first team All-Pro. Adams got the honor in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Evans leads in total yards and it’s a close race in regular season touchdown catches, where Evans leads 105 to 103.
August 12th, 2025 at 2:34 pm
Yards & TDs > Catches. I like Adams, really good player. Mike Evan’s is better. Those years being force fed by ARod, strongly influenced those 1st Team All Pros. Some he’s come into the league, no one has more yards or TDs than Mike. That is Dominance.
August 12th, 2025 at 2:34 pm
People will point to Evans lack of APs but to me I look at how many WRs fell off while Evans still kept going. Evan and Calvin Johnson are the two best WRs this generation. Also nobody wants to say it but Evans did it on low volume targets
August 12th, 2025 at 2:42 pm
Adams has had a great career and is a hell of a receiver – but I would take Mike Evans all day everyday as my primary receiver – at any point in their careers. Especially now!
Both are on a HOF track with their #s – but ME13 is looking more and more like a 1st ballot inductee while Adams may have to wait a few years to ‘make it’….
If Evans breaks Rice’s record and sets the bar impossibly high for others in the future by achieving 12 straight 1000 yard seasons to start a career – then that pretty well locks in a 1st ballot HOF award. A 2nd Super Bowl victory on Mike’s resume would be icing on top of the cake. Mmmm I like icing…
August 12th, 2025 at 2:44 pm
How many QBs has Evans played with in the NFL?
No matter who’s at QB Evans has continued to excel season after season . They are both outstanding. Evans is the epitome of consistence. Jump ball master too.
As always Go Bucs.
August 12th, 2025 at 2:46 pm
Pickgrin, Cut me off an edge piece. I love icing too.
As always Go Bucs.
August 12th, 2025 at 2:48 pm
Mike has never been named ALL-PRO?! What a slap in the face! That was the draft class that had Odell, Sammy Watkins, Landry, etc. Odell & Adam’s got all the hype , but Mike has crushed all of them, quietly.
August 12th, 2025 at 2:53 pm
Mike is the best and should have been named All-Pro at least three times too. Not fair.
August 12th, 2025 at 2:55 pm
Noclu that is, for me, the clincher for Evans being ranked higher. He made Johnny Football his last year, he’s made all these catch’s with all these different QB’s, he’s lost many yd’s and TD’s because of BS offensive PI calls. I truly hope he stays healthy all year and becomes the first WR to eclipse 2000 yards. He seems like a hungry lion this year, I say feed him. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk with more passion than he has this year so far.
August 12th, 2025 at 3:05 pm
Both of them strive to be the best receiver on the field. Competition is what makes greatness! Let the battle for greatness continue!
August 12th, 2025 at 3:07 pm
Those minimizing Davonte Adams career don’t get it.
To say that he was force fed the ball to make the All-pro are incorrect.
He was a stud that helped he and Rodgers being the most explosive QB — WR combo in many of the years he played. They were the best combo. Not because he was force fed the ball. But he did have a clearly better QB than Mike did most of those early years.
The HOF will look at his peak years and clearly the voters will see those peak years as better than Mikes.
That being said, the HOF pick so few players to actually make the HOF and they like stories. Mike Evans tying the great Jerry Rice for 11 consecutive seasons of 1000 yards and maybe being alone with 12 seasons is a great ticket for him. It is a story that Ira can tell the committee.
Evans has remained ahead of Adams on that all important career TD list. If he remains ahead of Adams on that list when they both retire — I think he has the story over Adams.
It is close — but Evans will have a record and Adams will not.
BTW — why Evans is better now — even as he slows — his elite wingspan continue to make him an elite red zone target. He is just amazing.
August 12th, 2025 at 3:12 pm
evans not being an ALL PRO is shocking….and a tad bit disrespectful imo…
i wonder what adams wouldve done with QBs such as:
mike glennon
josh mccown
fitzpatrick
winston
GO BUCS!!!!
August 12th, 2025 at 3:26 pm
Adams is due all the credit he gets. He gets more than Mikey who is still underrated. But don’t blame Davonte for that.
August 12th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
I remember about 4 years ago my wife, who doesn’t care about football at all was like, “who is this Davonte Adams guy and why do I know his name, I hear it all the time.” I told her the name she should and will forever remember is Mike Evans, Mike Evans, Mike Evans. She now laughs and says it thrice like the candy man whenever we talk about ME13.
August 12th, 2025 at 4:13 pm
Bucboi, u know what he would have said and done…the same thing he said for the Raiders playing with Jimmie G–” This is some B.S right here…this mofo trying to get me killed!, I need out ” Mike stayed the course, never complained, at least to the press, and the catches and numbers came naturally
August 12th, 2025 at 4:18 pm
just flip it around for a minute…
imagine mike was rodgers guy for all those early years…
and davonte was stuck with the group below when he started out:
mike glennon
josh mccown
fitzpatrick
winston
mike would be waaay ahead of davonte…
davonte got blessed…while mike got put to the test
August 12th, 2025 at 4:20 pm
GREAT ARTICLE! I’ve always wondered about their rivalry.
DRAFT CLASS
The 2014 WR draft class was crazy: Evans, Adams, Watkins, OBJ, Brandin Cooks, Kelvin Benjamin.
ALL-TIME STANDING
Evans and Adams are so close in All Time Receiving Yards and TD. You know they watch this stuff. Mike has Adams beat in both but they are only two TD apart. It will come down to health and Adams has had issues the last few years.
August 12th, 2025 at 4:31 pm
Adams has not won a SB. How many teams has he played for? All Pro is a beauty contest.
Evans is a SB champ. The consecutive 1,000 yard seasons is approaching Iron Man status.
There is no debate
August 12th, 2025 at 5:05 pm
Evans is tied with the GOAT for most consecutive 1000 yard seasons. He could be all time after this season. He also has a SB ring. The dude is a first ballot HOFer.
August 12th, 2025 at 6:28 pm
Of course he’s a 1st ballot HOF. The only thing to ponder is where he ends up in the discussion of greatest WR ever. He’s top 10 right now. He could climb.
August 12th, 2025 at 6:52 pm
1000 yards in 17 games with these pass interference rules is not the accomplishment it once was. Mike has been a model of consistency and a great player, but I’m tired of hearing about 1000 yard seasons. Get a second ring and let Adams chase that. It’s a team game – at least it was. Too many stat queens.
August 12th, 2025 at 7:02 pm
Off subject, but going back and rewatching some of the preseason game and Parrish actually looked better in the replay than when watching it live. I forgot his first play was actually a pass breakup. He then got beat on another play but it was more of a bust than getting beat. Also another play where I thought he got beat, turned out to be someone else – the awful WFLA production team rarely bothers with things like replays, so sometimes if you miss something like that, you don’t realize it until later. He did get beat on a couple of crossing routes, but again, rewatching it, it wasn’t like he played it poorly.
I wasn’t down at all on Parrish, but at the same time, he played better than I thought he did. I wouldn’t say by any means he had a good night, but I don’t think he had a bad night either.
Just cleaning up the record.
Also I went back and watched Braswell since I didn’t think live he had a bad night at all, and rewatching it, I stand by that. He got off the ball very quickly, and was getting decent penetration. I then watched Nelson on the other side, and I thought Braswell looked a little better – not that either stood out in a good or bad way. Not sure why people are so eager to want Braswell to fail, and perhaps he will fail, but I didn’t really take anything from that game other than Braswell was quick off the line.
August 12th, 2025 at 7:03 pm
View from 132 Says:
August 12th, 2025 at 6:52 pm
1000 yards in 17 games with these pass interference rules is not the accomplishment it once was. Mike has been a model of consistency and a great player, but I’m tired of hearing about 1000 yard seasons.
——–
Well dummy, you’ll be shocked to hear that Mike has never needed a 17 games to get 1000 yards. Also you don’t get credited yards for PI calls – if he did, you could add about 700 yards to Mike’s career totals just from the PI calls vs Lattimore alone.
August 12th, 2025 at 7:13 pm
The sad part about this.
The Bucs could have drafted Mike Evans and Devante Adams
But they felt the need for a TE
So they drafted Austin Seferian -Jenkins with the 38th pick
The Green Bay Packers drafted Devante Adams with the 53rd pick
It was clearly a reach by Jason Licht
But it was his first ever draft, part of the learning process
August 12th, 2025 at 7:16 pm
LakelandBuc – They also could have picked Dan Marino, Emmitt Smith, Tom Brady and even Bo Jackson.
Wait, they did draft Bo Jackson, to pair with Steve Young.
August 12th, 2025 at 7:39 pm
Rod Munch lol
I was just sayin
August 12th, 2025 at 8:26 pm
I LOVE ME but this obsession with 1000 yards is ridiculous.
Who cares…Honestly, who cares about a 1000 yd receiver or 1000 rusher these days.
Here in Tampa we act like it’s some miracle…he was helped several seasons to get to just 1000 yards…that’s not much TBH.
He’s a 1st ballot HOF’er for other reasons not some silly consecutive 1k thingy.
SMDH…stop it.
August 12th, 2025 at 9:18 pm
Dummy? I would be shocked to hear that a meaningless statistic was reached sooner? Thank you Rainman Rod. Your Mom lets you drive in the driveway.
August 12th, 2025 at 11:30 pm
View from 132 – A ‘your mom’ comeback? Figures.
I’ll pray for you to get better material.
God bless.