Mike Evans reaches 1K for record-setting 10th time to start a career

M-1K-E EVANS.

On Sunday, the future Hall of Famer reeled in seven catches for 162 yards and a touchdown as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers, 21-18.

In doing so, Evans became the first receiver in NFL history to begin his career with TEN (10) consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards or more.

The only receiver with a longer streak of such seasons is Jerry Rice’s 11-year run from 1986-1996. Rice’s rookie campaign saw him fall 73 yards shy of the 1,000-yard plateau, and a knee injury in San Francisco’s 1997 season-opener ended that stretch.

An Evans bust will surely join Rice’s in Canton one day.

This season, Evans already has 1,012 yards, which ranks seventh in the NFL as #13 seems poised for a fifth Pro Bowl invite. With five games remaining, the current campaign sees the Buccaneers (5-7) squarely in contention for the NFC South.

Even at 30, Evans continues to impress.

Of course, those of us in Aggieland are not shocked. At least most of us, anyway.

A football and basketball star at Galveston Ball High School, Evans signed with Texas A&M in 2011. What followed was perhaps the most dominant two-year stretch by an Aggie receiver ever.

As a redshirt freshman in 2012, Evans had 1,105 yards on 82 receptions and five touchdowns in A&M’s 11-2 season that culminated in a Cotton Bowl championship. He followed that up by setting the school record for receiving yards in a season (1,394) en route to consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC honors.

The Bucs then selected Evans seventh overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. That pick certainly paid off as Evans helped Tampa Bay capture its second championship as the Bucs crushed Kansas City to win Super Bowl LV, 31-9.

Evans’ career totals sit at 744 catches for 11,437 yards and 91 touchdowns.

Mike Evans career statistics

• 2014: 15 games, 68 receptions, 1,051 yards, 12 touchdowns
• 2015: 15 games, 74 receptions, 1,206 yards, 3 touchdowns
• 2016: 16 games, 96 receptions, 1,321 yards, 12 touchdowns
• 2017: 15 games, 71 receptions, 1,001 yards, 5 touchdowns
• 2018: 16 games, 86 receptions, 1,524 yards, 8 touchdowns
• 2019: 13 games, 67 receptions, 1,157 yards, 8 touchdowns
• 2020: 16 games, 70 receptions, 1,006 yards, 13 touchdowns
• 2021: 16 games, 74 receptions, 1,035 yards, 14 receptions
• 2022: 15 games, 77 receptions, 1,124 yards, 6 touchdowns
• 2023: 12 games, 61 receptions, 1,012 yards, 10 touchdowns
• Total: 149 games, 744 receptions, 11,437 yards, 91 touchdowns