TAMPA, Fla. – Not once, but twice, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady looked for wide receiver Mike Evans on Tuesday night, connecting with him on passes of 30 and 35 air yards along the right.
Evans never broke speed because he did both catches, even when cornerback Mazzi Wilkins was draped over him. A little later, the two nodded to each other at the sideline and shared a laugh. Asked what it has been like to work on a “living legend” every day, Evans said that Brady is “trying to make me a living legend too. I’m appreciating that.
“He’s the GOAT, on and off the field. He’s crazy. He’s a superstar – the most accomplished player in our game in history, and he’s just like everyone else,” Evans said. “He just works extremely hard, he always takes care of his body. He loves his family. He loves family time. He’s just cool. He’s a real down-to-earth guy.
“He’s already up there as one of my favorite teammates, and we’ve only had a few exercises together. That’s saying a lot. I’ll learn a lot from him and hopefully we can throw this up this year.”
Brady has not had a receiver with the attributes of Evans – he is 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds with a monster catch radius – since Evans’ own idol, Randy Moss. Evans arrived at Moss this year as the only two players in NFL history to record 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons. Moss had more speed downfield than Evans, although Evans can certainly overcome his share of defenders.
But Evans longs to produce more yards after catching, which is an area Brady can help with because of his consistent ball placement, even at deeper passes.
The New England Patriots averaged 5.60 yards to catches per catch with Brady since 2001 – second-most in the league in that span, and not just because of shorter passes, which are naturally easier to collect yards after catches , as the Patriots ’11 .66 yards per reception was eighth in the NFL.
The transition has not been entirely smooth. Bucs coach Bruce Arians pointed out that Brady threw a pass on Tuesday that Evans was not quite ready for, but he has not been the only player. Brady gets the ball out quickly, so players have to make a more concerted effort to get their heads around faster.
“He came back and he understood immediately [what he did wrong], “Arians said about Evans.” He thought he would run the man out, instead of just taking it now and taking the first one down. “
Bucs wide receiver coach Kevin Garver said Evans has “a lot of respect” for Brady, who will help push the star receiver.
“I think it’s the number 1 thing that Mike will help,” Garver said. “And then just the little things – little things, that’s really what I’ve been stressing with Mike all offseason – get to the right depth, be in the right receiving space of the catch, use the right technique.
“I think those are the things Mike’s focused on, he obviously needs to do those things on his own, but I think I’m playing with a guy like Tom, I think it helps from a motivational point of view if you with a quarterback of his caliber. “
Arians believes there is room for Evans to grow not only with Brady, but with his miscarriage in Year 2.
“Just the little things. Like in the second year of the crime – the intricacies, the little things like that, I would like Mike to do what he does every day,” Arians said. “You can not ask much more of him.”
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