If Mike Evans Returns, No Need To Worry About Drafting A Receiver
February 3rd, 2026
“What do you think, ‘Meek,’ can I still hang with these corners?”
The more Joe thinks about it, the more Joe believes Mike Evans will return for 2026.
Joe doesn’t think Evans wants to go out still being in top form but having such a lousy year after missing so many games with an injury.
And Joe knows Evans doesn’t want a playoff-less season to be the final season of his Bucs legacy.
If Evans doesn’t return, Joe could see the Bucs drafting a receiver on the third day of the draft. This draft is deep in receivers.
Think about it: When cats like Malachi Fields (Notre Dame), Ja’Kobi Lane (USC) and Omar Cooper (Indiana) are considered (maybe) third-round picks, that’s a deep-arse draft for receivers.
If Evans returns, no need to draft a receiver on the third day of the draft.
Joe believes the Bucs have the best foursome of receivers in the game. Evans is a Hall of Famer. Joe believes Chris Godwin will be the old Godwin this fall. If Emeka Egbuka can get back on track, look out. And Jalen McMillan, well, Joe is expecting him to blow up this fall.
And for a seventh-round pick, Tez Johnson showed he belongs in the league. You figure after his rookie season, Johnson will only get better.
Even if Evans decides to hang up his cleats, Joe isn’t going to sweat the Bucs’ wide receiver corps.
Overstimulated is one way to describe that game… 😅
Tez Johnson and Chris Godwin of the @Buccaneers got to experience #StadiumSeries on the glass, and they were NOT disappointed. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/fJYq93VdsW
— NHL (@NHL) February 2, 2026
February 3rd, 2026 at 4:36 am
Oh yea you definitely draft a receiver so you have JMac, Tez, Double EE and one more
When Chris & Mike’s time is up. By the way go get Justin Fields and let him get coached up and sit in the room with Baker. Yea definitely get a receiver.🤙🏾
February 3rd, 2026 at 5:32 am
Remember how angry Mike Evans was when Atlanta got a 1st Down after being at 3rd & 28 and 4th & 14? The SAME GUY is still running that crappy defense. Why would Mike want to come back to that?
February 3rd, 2026 at 6:15 am
Awesome video Joe
February 3rd, 2026 at 6:21 am
If ME returns, no, the Bucs cannot waste any draft pick on a WR. But as you pointed out in a previous post, I could see the Bucs drafting a TE at 15. It would be just like taking EE last year.
However, I know DR would go nuts, and I wouldn’t blame him. The D needs so much help, that 7 draft picks don’t come close to filling the gaps: ILB, OLB, 2DT, backup OG, CB
February 3rd, 2026 at 6:32 am
Sadiq is really the best TE and it’s not even close.
Tampa is considered a TE needy team so it will be interesting to see.
I can see Licht waiting again on an edge rusher because this draft class is considered DEEP at that position.
I still like TJ Parker if available, but would rather get Max Crosby in a Trade.
Jermod McCoy is an interesting pick also if he is there.
Both those guys had breakout years in 2024 when the team was good.
ACL for McCoy might push him down to 15. He is a stud!
February 3rd, 2026 at 6:59 am
The Bucs are loaded at the WR position. I hate to say this, I would let Mike walk. We could better use the 20 million plus salary on other needs. Mike is getting older and the only certain thing is that he will miss some games with a hamstring injury. Mike deserves to go chase a ring and the Bucs just not there. Has any one considered that is Mike gets signed by another team we could get a 3rd round comp pick.
February 3rd, 2026 at 7:33 am
The stupidest headline in all the years of JBF !
Our passing game at best is a moving the chains passing threat!
We don’t have any explosive WR’s … ya know like the ones that you will see on Sunday!
February 3rd, 2026 at 7:46 am
“We don’t have any explosive WR’s … ya know like the ones that you will see on Sunday!”
We’ve got at least one, problem is he didn’t get snaps over Shepard & Tez Johnson.
A downside of having all these different OCs is we lose continuity in personnel usage and play calling tendencies that compliment/justify their usage.
February 3rd, 2026 at 8:03 am
Tez is just like Bucky , they are neither NFL FAST, they are short area quick and have moves. Bucky has been brought down from behind several times in his LIMITED touches in his career.
Tez is a specialist just like Bucky.
Tez surprised a few defenses last year, that will not happen in 2026 .
February 3rd, 2026 at 8:16 am
Hope Evans moves on. The guy cant play for more than 4 games w/o a serious hammy injury. On top of that he drops way too many balls now. Father time has caught up with him and the Bucs need the cap space for defensive FAs.
February 3rd, 2026 at 8:24 am
Mike came back from injury and looked great. I still think he has something left in the tank. But what’s keeping him here besides the emotional connection? This team is nowhere close to a legit title contender and Mike is already rich so more money might not be enticing enough.
I’m sure he wants to get a few more 1K seasons and I dont think that’ll happen with the Bucs.
February 3rd, 2026 at 8:55 am
With regards to Mike Evans. Yea I hope he returns. But another avenue to consider is the philosophy the great HOF coach, William Stephen Belichick. Trade a player one year before you should. Looking at you Texans.
February 3rd, 2026 at 9:01 am
As enticing as it is to some to not re-sign Mike Evans because of $$$, he provides something very valuable that our other receivers don’t … he’s a premier threat in the deep passing game, and as such he stretches the field like few can. That forces the opposing defense to defend whatever route he’s running, and keeps them ‘honest’. Most teams can’t defend against him with just single coverage.
But because so many of his routes are intermediate to deep, that puts a lot of pressure on our QBs to throw relatively accurate deep balls. Jameis was his QB for 5 of Mike’s first 6 years (2015-2019) and ME13 had a 55.3% catch percentage. Tom Brady was his QB for the next 3 years (2020-2022) and Mike had a 63.1% catch percentage. Baker has been his QB for these last 3 years now, and Mike’s catch percentage there is 59.4%.
But whereas Mike’s catch percentages were fairly consistent with the first 2 QBs, his catch percentages with Baker have been very inconsistent … 58.1% in 2023 jumped to 67.3% in 2024 (the highest of Mike’s career) but fell way off this past year to 48.4%. And it wasn’t just because he was hurt; Mike’s catch percentage was 43.8% BEFORE getting hurt in Game 4 last season, then 53.3% for the 4 games he played after returning. 2025 was a most bizarre year, and not just defensively.
February 3rd, 2026 at 9:04 am
Lt Dan … Can’t trade Mike Evans. He’s a UFA this year.
February 3rd, 2026 at 9:19 am
George R … ‘I hate to say this, I would let Mike walk. We could better use the 20 million plus salary on other needs.’
Just as an aside, Spotrac shows Mike Evans’ Market Value now as being $13.3 mil. I surmise that it has something to do with age AND the fact that he spent half of 2025 on IR. Personally I suspect he’ll get significantly more than that.
Does bring up a consideration though. In his first 9 years, Mike’s availability based on snap counts ranged from 80% – 87%, with Mike averaging 875 offensive snaps per season in those 9 years (and he only missed 9 games in those 9 years too). But then his availability really dropped in these last 3 years, averaging 59% over those 3 years. Offensive snaps fell from 863 in 2023 (17 games) to 671 in 2024 (14 games) then to 357 in 2025 (8 games). I’m sure it’s hard to convince NFL GMs to pay top dollar when your age is up there but your availability is down significantly.
February 3rd, 2026 at 9:27 am
Mike Evans had long chats with Tom Brady and Gronk when they were on the team.
He knows exactly why they came here when they did and what it meant for their carriers . They’re other examples of HOF players finishing with another team.
Mike Evans is a big lumbering shadow of his prime.
He is injury prone at this stage of his career, 17 regular season games, preseason, all those practices and that is just to get to the first playoff game.
That scared hamstring can pop at any moment!
I LOVE Mike Evans but….
I would rather pay the same for a younger best FA wide receiver .
Tough decision but the right decision.
LD is not even in the conversation for a roster spot in 2026
February 3rd, 2026 at 9:50 am
You can bet Evans will miss a month with a hamstring if not more.
Jmac has been injury prone goi my back to Washington.
The way Chris plays and with his aging means you can bet he’ll miss time.
You cannot neglect wr this offseason. Trade draft or FA you need to bring in someone that has talent to challenge for a roster spot.
February 3rd, 2026 at 10:05 am
Mike is too much risk. Love the guy but we have to use the money for the future. Another year of lost availability like 25 at 20 mil will be a disaster. Even if Mike has a good year elsewhere, we will be getting production out of the cap money. 20 mil can go a long way. It’s too late and we’re too far away to be sentimental.
February 3rd, 2026 at 10:16 am
I’m going to keep saying it on here. Stock the shelves with ME13, LVD and more talent and lets see what Bowles does with it. If he is your guy, then give him all he needs to succeed. If he fails, you have your answer.
February 3rd, 2026 at 10:31 am
I love Evans and Godwin, but at what point do we quit paying $40 million a year for two guys that can’t stay on the field? This team pays out the nose for nostalgia.
February 3rd, 2026 at 10:39 am
We do NOT need to draft a WR this year, whether Evans returns or not!
We had some young guys prove they deserve a chance to develop. We have Godwin, whi DID return to form. We have Egbuka. Wehave others. And Ottom is an excellent pass catcher.
We CANNOT keep ignoring the defense!
Fans want to blame Bowles and say his defense sucks, but the only time we saw it with proper personnel we won a Superbowl.
Give him the tools to succeed again!
February 3rd, 2026 at 11:02 am
3rd and 28 maybe stuck in his craw. I don’t think Evans shares LVD’s affection for Bowels.
February 3rd, 2026 at 11:21 am
If Evans returns, drafting a WR or a TE would be a waste of capital.
With those 4 WRs, what do you need a receiving TE for? Sign the best blocking TE in FA which should be cheap and let him block to buy Baker more time or help open holes for Bucky.
A blocking TE in the NFL should still be able to slip out and catch a pass to pick up 4-5 yards and be useful to help move the chains or in the red zone.
Never know how the draft will fall but the first 5 picks should be front 7… maybe a CB if they are BPA and we haven’t replaced Dean in FA.
February 3rd, 2026 at 11:33 am
It’s crazy you guys point out Gods &. Mike injuries,there is absolutely nothing wrong with drafting a receiver late. It’s the future one should think about. and I want Justin Fields to throw to the young core. The future!! Just need a good qb coach.