National Football League

Bucs WR Mike Evans adding to strong case for Hall of Fame

Updated Dec. 5, 2023 11:30 a.m. ET

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Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Sunday was a good day for Mike Evans, who caught the longest touchdown of his NFL career for the go-ahead score as he went 75 yards in the Bucs' much-needed win against the Panthers.

Moments after the touchdown, he also reached what has become an annual celebration for Bucs fans: Mike Evans reaching 1,000 receiving yards for the 10th straight season, an unprecedented streak to start a career.

Retired NFL star J.J. Watt congratulated him on social media with three words: Hall of Fame.

Watt is not alone in mentioning Evans as someone destined for Canton, Ohio. As Evans did a postgame TV interview on the field, safety Antoine Winfield interrupted: "He's a legend! He's a Hall of Famer."

There has always been talk of Evans as a future Hall of Famer, especially once he had the postseason relevance of a Super Bowl ring as Tom Brady's leading receiver in 2020. Now, as Evans moves up the NFL's career receiving lists while still only 30 years old, it's a question he is getting asked himself.

"That's not for me to decide," Evans said after Sunday's win. "I know that I am a Hall of Fame-caliber player. Like, I've seen all the guys that have played — all the guys that are in the Hall of Fame. I know what I can do, but my career's not over yet. So that's something to think about in the future."

Evans will be a free agent this spring, and while he and the Bucs have expressed a genuine interest in him playing his entire career in Tampa, he could be playing for another team next season. His success this year, currently ranking second in the NFL in touchdown catches, has validated the idea that he still has years of winning football ahead of him.

"I think Mike can play as long as he wants to," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said Sunday night. "His drive and desire are there."

Evans already has a solid Hall of Fame résumé. Looking at all NFL players in their first 10 seasons, Evans is now tied for fifth in touchdown catches with 91. The four players ahead of him are all already in Canton: Jerry Rice (131), Randy Moss (124), Marvin Harrison (110) and Terrell Owens (101). It's reasonable to think Evans can reach a major milestone with his 100th touchdown next season.

For career touchdowns, he's already tied for 13th, and his next one will tie him for 12th with former teammate Rob Gronkowski, a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer. The only other players with more touchdown catches not in the Hall of Fame — Larry Fitzgerald had 121 and Antonio Gates had 116 — will be there soon. If touchdowns are the best thing a receiver can do on the field, it's arguably the most important statistical measure for Canton.

There aren't many active players likely to catch Evans in the immediate future. He's tied with Davante Adams at 91 right now, but the next closest is DeAndre Hopkins, who has 76 and is a year older than Evans. Tyreek Hill, with 75 and a year younger, would have to outlast him to catch him. There are promising young receivers who might someday catch him: A.J. Brown has 42 in his first five seasons and DK Metcalf has 41. Evans had 40 TDs in his first five seasons.

Sometimes the easiest ticket to enshrinement is having a one-of-one accomplishment, and Evans has that in two 10-year streaks he extended Sunday. His streak with at least 1,000 receiving yards broke Moss' record for the most years to begin a career. Moss had six, and Evans passed that in 2020. He has now matched Moss with 10 career 1,000-yard seasons, second only to Rice's 14. If Evans does it again next year, he will match Rice for the longest streak at any point in any career. 

There aren't many active 1,000-yard streaks close to 10 straight years. Travis Kelce will soon get his eighth, Stefon Diggs his sixth, but those are the only streaks even at five right now.

Evans' second one-of-one accomplishment is having at least 60 catches every season, another NFL record to start a career that he set last year. Strangely enough, it speaks well for Evans that he doesn't have more catches: He ranks 13th all-time in touchdowns, but 47th in receptions. That makes his end-zone dominance a specialty, and puts his yards at a premium as well. Of the players with more career touchdowns than Evans, only three have averaged more than his 15.4 yards per catch: Moss at 15.6, Steve Largent at 16.0 and Don Hutson at 16.4.

Evans leads the NFC with 10 touchdown receptions this season, and that should go a long way to getting him his fifth career Pro Bowl nod. Only four NFC players have more receiving yards: Dallas' CeeDee Lamb (1,182), Philadelphia's Brown (1,164), Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown (1,042) and the Rams' Puka Nacua (1,029), but all four have at least 12 more targets this season and none has more than seven touchdowns.

Those Pro Bowls are a valuable currency for Hall of Fame selection, and Evans has a knock against him of being so consistently great but rarely the best in the league. He finished third in yards in 2018, second in touchdowns in 2021 and tied for second in 2016.

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The Bucs' proud representation in Canton is exclusively on defense: Lee Roy Selmon, plus four icons from their 2002 Super Bowl team in Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. Brady will obviously be inducted as a Patriot, but his three years in Tampa yielded another championship and two more division titles, and Evans will likely finish his career with more touchdowns from Brady (32) than from any other quarterback.

Evans has rewritten all of the Bucs' receiving records and can stake an easy claim to being the best offensive player in the franchise's history. And whether his future is with the Bucs or not, with each touchdown and each 1,000-yard season moving forward, he builds a stronger case for finishing his career in the Hall of Fame.

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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Greg Auman