Mike Evans WR Texas A&M
TALENT BOARD ROUND 1
STRENGTHS
Mike is a franchise wide receiver. He has those strong hands you look for in a #1 wide receiver along with the body type, quickness, and speed to run all the routes and catch the ball. He likes the physical part of the game. On deep passes he will use his big body to shield the ball from the defender like a tight end and he will make the difficult catch while adjusting to the ball in the air. He can get deep because he has surprising quickness off the line, strength down the field and cannot be moved off his route. He has a very high football IQ and understands how to run routes to get open. Mike will move the chains on third down from outside as a wide receiver or being used as a slot receiver. He is a matchup nightmare for cornerbacks because of his size, strength, and quickness. In the slot he is too quick, fast, and has the needed strength equal to deal with the linebackers and safeties. He has excellent feet and great balance and will fight for the ball in the air. He has that nasty attitude that QB’s like to see in a receiver who they depend on to move the chains. Mike will catch the ball when everyone in the stadium knows the ball is going to him. He has good run after the catch skills and, because of his size, is very hard to bring down. I call him Mike (the Hump) Evans because during the most difficult times in a game, when others are struggling and making mistakes, Mike will get the whole team over the hump and back on the right track if you keep throwing him the ball.
CONCERNS
Mike needs to be paired up with an accurate strong armed quarterback to reach his full potential. I’m sorry…that’s just B.S. -- he just needs to get to the NFL as quickly as possible!
BOTTOM LINE
The first time I saw Mike play I thought: “That’s what Andrew Luck would play like if he was a wide receiver.” I’m comparing athletic talent, body types, mental strength, size and football intelligence and not positions. Mike sees the whole field from every receiver position like a basketball player coming down the court reading a defense and reacting to it. Texas A&M runs a pro style spread offense. In that offense, receivers have to read the defense on the run and be in sync with the quarterback on what routes to run, when to cut off routes, when to go inside or out and when to go deep. When game planning the coaches will set the depth of the routes depending on what they see on film. An example might be run all routes ten yards before you make your breaks. The QB and WR reading the safety help or zone coverage or single coverage, dictates the break of the route after the 10 yards and the QB lets the ball fly right at the ten yard break and hopes the receiver is reading the same break as he is. Mike’s ability to read defenses like a quarterback at this point of his career is unique and his ability to adjust routes during a game in sync with the QB is unique also. In game planning, the coaches might set up all the routes to start at 5, 10 or 12 yards depending on the opponent’s base defense. During the game, the QB, according to pass rush pressure, will change the route depth. Sometimes a savvy quarterback will even change the route depth for just that one play. This can affect the productivity of a receiver because they have a tendency to start thinking too much, but Mike handles these changes easily without it affecting his productivity. Mike is an impact receiver in a system like this because of his ability to see the whole field like a quarterback. That’s why he can get a quarterback and team over the hump when the passing game is struggling. Mike (The Hump) Evans is a quarterback’s dream come true and a franchise Wide Receiver.
Drew Boylhart Dec/2013