Most NFL players have been asked before who they’re favorite player was growing up. For Bucs receiver Mike Evans it was Peyton Manning, but Randy Moss was his favorite wide receiver, and they also share the record books together as the only two receivers to eclipse 1,000 yards in the first six years of their career.

“He was definitely my favorite receiver growing up,” Evans said after he went over 1,000 yards for a sixth straight season in a road win at Atlanta. “As far as receivers came, he was a freak of nature, he was so exciting to watch. To be in the same sentence as him is amazing.”

But the tables have turned a little now for Evans as he has become the receiver that high school and college players have looked up to and tried to mold their game after. At age 26, Evans is still young, but he’s not the newest guy in the league.

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

PewterReport.com covered the Senior Bowl last week and spoke with some prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft. The general consensus from wide receivers at this year’s Senior Bowl has been that Evans is one of the top players that they look up to.

“Mike Evans is somebody that I like to model my game after,” said Texas wide receiver Collin Johnson. “He’s a big big guy, athletic, and physical. I respect his game a lot.”

With Breshad Perriman’s strong finish to the end of the season, there could be a chance that he becomes too expensive for the Bucs in free agency. Unless they are confident enough that Scotty Miller can step up, the Bucs may look for a receiver to become the number three guy in the draft. So the players that have been watching Evans on their televisions for years would all of a sudden become teammates.

Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings is a receiver that is similar to Evans due to his big size and deceptive down field speed. And he would welcome the chance to learn from Evans.

“It’d be cool,” Jennings said. “Growing up you watched him play and you’ve seen him catch those high point balls, one-hand, two hands, so you’ve seen what he’s done in his college career and his NFL career. So to go there and be able to be behind a receiver who could show me the ropes, it would be very cool and I’d soak that in right away.”

Another player in Quartney Davis has a special connection to Evans. Davis played his college football at Evans’ alma mater Texas A&M and has been watching the Bucs’ star receiver for years. When asked about Evans, Davis couldn’t help but have a big smile as he talked about him.

“That’s my guy,” Davis said. “He’s fearless, aggressive, catch the ball, make plays, hard to tackle. In my opinion, a top five receiver in this league. Mike Evans is a great guy, I know he’d be a great teammate, he’d be able to help me succeed in the NFL, learn things that I need to know. When it comes to receiver, helping me to find keys to beat the defender, so it would be awesome playing with Mike.”