For years the Tampa media has said it. Bucs fans have shouted it from the rooftops across the state of Florida and around the world. But finally, its nice to hear someone else acknowledge that the Bucs have two future Ring of Honor members that are often overlooked.

Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans and inside linebacker Lavonte David were both listed as some of the most underrated players in the NFL on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football program.

Mike Evans’ Lack Of Ego Has Made Him One Of The Greatest Bucs Players

It started with Sarah Walsh praising Mike Evans for his career accolades. She pointed out his ongoing record of nine consecutive seasons to begin a career with 1,000 yards receiving. Walsh also questioned why Evans never gets put in the same conversation as other elite receivers like Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and Miami’s Tyreek Hill to name a few.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But probably the best compliment of all was the conversation over Evans as the person.

“(He’s) just a dog when it comes to going to work,” Walsh said. “He could care less about the attention and that’s also part of what makes Mike Evans so special. This guy plays hurt, there were times two seasons ago where he was limping all over the place making touchdown catches. There was a game at the end of the season last year Week 17 – 207 receiving yards in that game.

“Mike is the last person that is ever like, look….receivers, there’s a certain stereotype there. Mike is the opposite of that. He is never ‘Look at me.’ He just goes to work and quietly racks up numbers and I would stand on the table in my creamsicle jersey and be like Mike Evans should be up there with the best of them.”

Lavonte David Is The Mark Of Consistency At ILB

On a separate segment of Good Morning Football, NFL linebacker Jaylon Smith joined the panel and gave a shoutout to Lavonte David for his accomplishments throughout his career.

“When you talk about the mark of greatness is consistency, he embodies that,” Smith said of David. “I love him – number 54. I wear 54, so I’m a huge fan. When you talk about going through the water of not having team success and then turning it around in having a Super Bowl championship run with the addition of Tom Brady, I just love his leadership. He’s a guy that’s continuing to grow. He’s 33 years old and he’s not stopping. I love him. He’s a big brother of mine, let’s give him some love.”

Why Have these Bucs Been So Overlooked?

Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Both Mike Evans and Lavonte David have been underrated for various reasons. A big part of it was because for years the Bucs had teams that struggled until 2020, which didn’t give them much national attention.

That’s what made it all that much more special when the Bucs won the Super Bowl in the 2020 season and have continued to make the playoffs in the following seasons. They endured a lot of the hard times but got to experience the best kind of success you can get in this league.

Evans, as Walsh pointed out, unfairly doesn’t get brought up in the conversations as often as other top receivers in the league. Yet he has made four Pro Bowls.

David on the other hand has egregiously been overlooked when it comes to individual accolades. The star linebacker did earn first time All-Pro back in his second season in 2013. Oddly enough, the only Pro Bowl he’s ever made came two seasons later in 2015. The idea that he could he could make All-Pro one year, but not a Pro Bowl that same season and has only made one in his entire career to this point is baffling to say the least.

On GMFB’s All-Underrated team, Evans was fifth on offense while David was ranked second on defense.