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WR Mike Evans instead of Adam Thielen (NFC)
Yes, the passing numbers are just going through the roof right now and there are plenty of deserving wide receivers to make the cut, but I don’t get how the guy who is second in the league in receiving yards is not voted in.
Evans might not come from the biggest market and the Bucs haven’t been in the playoff conversation since their hot start to the year, but can we please give Big Mike some love here?
We always think of Evans as this big-bodied wideout, who skies over smaller DBs for jump-balls and he has come up with those on plenty of occasions, as it happens basically once a week, but he is a much more complete pass-catcher than he gets credit for.
Evans excels at shielding defenders from the ball on inside-breaking routes and he is a true vertical threat with that speed and smooth transition to the back-shoulder if he doesn’t get a step on the defender.
He is averaging 17.9(!) yards per catch and his six plays of 40+ yards are tied for second only behind Tyreek Hill among all receivers, including a crazy 64-yard hook-up on a broken play versus the Ravens last Sunday.
That is incredible for a 6’5”, 230-pound athlete. Not only is Evans super-consistent with less than 48 yards receiving just once, but he also has seven games with 100+ yards on the season.
I like Thielen a lot and he had that crazy streak of 100-yard games himself, but we saw what happens when opposing teams start doubling him – see five catches for 28 yards versus the Patriots.
Evans has been bracketing in several games and he still has produced at the highest level. Obviously, Julio deserves to be the first receiver in from the NFC, but after that I look at those other guys in a very similar way and Evans makes a couple more big plays I think.
