When Mike Evans stepped up to the podium at One Buc on Sunday he gave the local media insight into what he’s seen from Tampa Bay’s new-look team, and coaching staff, through this point in training camp.

Entering last year with Evans, DeSean Jackson, O.J. Howard, Cam Brate and Chris Godwin at the offense’s disposal, the Bucs’ receiving corps was largely viewed as one of the more talented groups in the league. Now with Jackson back in Philadelphia via trade and Breshad Perriman primed to be the replacement speed threat tasked with taking the top off of the defense, along with young talent behind them, Evans believes this is still a very dangerous group.

“It’s definitely up there with the best,” Evans said. “We have a lot of guys that can make plays that are pass catchers, that’s good. Rank them? They’re up there. We will have to do well, but I think we’re right up there with last year. Because some of the same guys – [Perriman] is going to take the top off just like DeSean [Jackson] did. And then we’ve got a lot of really good rookies. So, we’ll have to see who makes it out of those rookies, but it’s a really good rookie class we have at the receiver position.”

Of the rookie class, Evans said that it was hard to pick just one guy who has stood out but said that Scotty Miller, the Bucs’ sixth-round pick this year, has surprised him with just how fast he is.

“His speed – I didn’t know he is that fast,” Evans said. “He’s really, really fast. But all of them have been making really good plays. I’m excited to see what they’re going to do in these preseason games.”

He then moved on to talk about Winston and the improvements that he’s seen from the Bucs’ starting quarterback in his ever-important contract year. 2019 will likely be the most important season in franchise history regarding the position as Tampa Bay will be faced with re-signing Winston, moving on or possibly even franchise tagging him if they truly feel like they need one more year to be certain. Evans said that Winston has gotten better every year, and feels as though he’s improved this offseason as much as ever.

It’s not news that Evans is one of the top performers in the league at his position and he’s even put up numbers through his first five seasons that land him in rare company. Evans already holds the franchise record for career and single-season receiving yards and he’s one of just six players ever to reach 6,000 receiving yards in their first five seasons, but Evans believes that he’s currently being used in a way that will possibly have him at his most effective this season, specifically in the red zone.