They say age is just a number, though the better a player gets the older he is in the NFL becomes very impressive. Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans continues to be up there with the best in the game not just at his position, but in the whole league. Evans turned 30 before the start of last season and recorded some of his best numbers in several years. This is also putting him on a unique list before he turns 31 next month.

Mike Evans Ranked With Top Players Over 30

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

In a recent article on the 33rd Team by Jeff Diamond, he ranked the top 20 players aged 30 or over heading into the 2024 NFL season. Finally, Mike Evans gets into a top 10 list, albeit this one showing his age. Evans came in at sixth overall with only Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones ahead of him. Here is what was said.

“In his tenth season since joining the Buccaneers as their 2014 first-round pick, Mike Evans tied for the NFL lead with 13 receiving TDs last season.

He had his tenth straight season with over 1,000 receiving yards, an NFL record for a player to start his career. Evans also earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection and it was the second season in which he’s been named Second-team All-Pro.

Evans helped Bucs QB Baker Mayfield revive his career in another division-winning season for the team.”

It’s pretty spot on analysis for Mike Evans as he and Hill tied for the league lead in touchdowns. The 1,255 yards that he put up last season were the third highest of his career and the most since 2018 when he had his career best 1,524 yards receiving.

Mike Evans Still Has A Lot To Play For

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

A big reason why Evans has been able to record so many important accolades is the amount of work he puts on his body in the offseason to stay in shape, healthy and ready to play at a high level when the season arrives. That’s why there shouldn’t be as much of a fear of a drop off for Mike Evans that might be seen in other players.

There’s still plenty of reasons for Mike Evans to continue to be playing for longer. He’s won a Super Bowl already but he definitely would like to win another if not even more. While he’s earned two second-team All-Pros, he’s yet to make a first team accolade, which of course would help add to his Hall of Fame resume.

An important part of that resume is Evans’ 10 consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards to begin a career. He can extend his own record and tie another this season with another 1,000-yard year, which would tie him with Jerry Rice with the most 1,000-yard seasons in a row with 11. Rice started this in his second year in the NFL.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

Although Mike Evans holds pretty much every Bucs’ franchise record imaginable, there is still another two that he could break. Currently, former Buc Keyshawn Johnson holds Tampa Bay’s single regular season catches record with 106 in 2001. Evans’ teammate Chris Godwin, is second for the regular season with 104 in 2022, but Godwin made another 10 receptions in the Bucs’ lone playoff game that season, putting him at 114, which is the most combined catches in a season all-time by a Bucs player. It’ll take some big production, but it’s just yet another moment that Evans can strive for this season.

Expecting another season with high level production is par for the course for Evans. With Liam Coen as the new offensive coordinator there is an anticipation that he will have specific designs to get Evans the football more frequently. Every Bucs fan would sign up for this.