Mike Evans put his sophomore slump behind him, and it’s paying off for the Buccaneers

Last season, Mike Evans went through a bit of a sophomore slump. He still totaled an impressive 1,206 receiving yards, but he had built a reputation that no wide receiver wants: as a dropper. This season, the Buccaneers receiver has put that behind him.

Evans has had a resurgence, and already has 811 yards in nine games, along with a league-leading eight touchdowns going into Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. He’s also been the most targeted receiver in the league, with 108 targets. His 59 receptions are good for sixth in the league.

Sunday, Evans continued his stellar season with six receptions and 109 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the Buccaneers win their second consecutive game.

As a rookie, he had 12 touchdown catches, trailing only Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown. He followed that up with just three touchdowns in his second year despite having first overall pick Jameis Winston at quarterback instead of Josh McCown and Mike Glennon. Now that he and Winston have had time to jell, he’s not known as the guy who can’t corral a pass.

Buccaneers offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Todd Monken said in August that he felt Evans’s drops were mental.

“To me, a lot of it is more anxiety,” Monken said on 620 WDAE. “Mike is wound pretty tight. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. He wants to be a really good player.”

Monken added, “You watch the games and it’s amazing how one drop leads to another drop and leads to another drop.”

That certainly seemed like the case in Week 9 of last season against the New York Giants, when Evans dropped six passes. It was the most by a player in 10 years.

Evans also had trouble in the end zone, where he caught just two touchdowns on 15 targets.

This year has been different. Evans has been clutch in the end zone and has been making spectacular catches, as well. In Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, Evans came down with one of the best catches of the season, while taking a punishing blow that put him in concussion protocol.

Winston has appreciated his acrobatics, as he told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “It was amazing,” Winston said. “People talk about [New York Giants wide receiver] Odell Beckham’s catch [in 2014]. It was an amazing catch. He caught it with his three fingers. But Mike took a hit on that play and kept the ball in that one hand, so that’s impressive.”

Winston was certainly just as grateful for Evans’s superhuman athleticism in Week 10, when Winston was able to escape a number of Bears defenders and amazingly found Evans down the field in one of the best plays all season.

Winston said after the game that as soon as he got free, he looked for Evans: “As soon as I started scrambling, you’ve got to think, ‘Where’s Mike?’ Anytime it breaks down, you know that guy’s going to find a way to get open.”

The big plays and freakish athleticism come naturally for Evans. Along with football, he was a basketball player and track and field athlete in high school. Those basketball skills have certainly come in handy when it comes to these difficult catches, with his leaping ability and vision.

A physically improved Evans could be another factor in his great season. He lost weight during the offseason and told Laine: “This is the lightest I’ve been since college — around 220. I feel real good.”

He added that he felt “slow and heavy” in organized team activities, and that he’s been monitoring what he’s been eating since.

Evans’s 23 career touchdown receptions are tied for seventh in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history. The franchise record is 34, and it certainly seems as though Evans will be able to crush that as long as he’s in the Buccaneer red and pewter.

His 23 touchdowns is also tied for sixth all-time for most touchdown receptions before age 24. With two more, he will pass Larry Fitzgerald and Hakeem Nicks for fourth on the list.

At 4-5, the Buccaneers aren’t quite out of the NFC South race. Going into Week 11, they stood in second place behind the 6-4 Atlanta Falcons. They’ve shown more promise than in recent years, despite having the league’s 27th-ranked defense that has cost them a couple of games this season.

A young, talented duo is a good foundation for a team hoping to contend on a consistent basis sooner rather than later. Winston and Evans are that hope for the Buccaneers.