Captain Fear
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- Mar 20, 2019
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For whatever reason, Tom Brady and Mike Evans have not hit it off. Brady is the GOAT, and Evans is one of the best receivers in the NFL.
Evans has 52 targets, which ties for 38th in the league. Stefon Diggs leads the league with 91.
Earlier this week, head coach Bruce Arians offered a backhanded critique of Brady when asked to explain whether the offense was making enough of an effort to get Evans involved.
“Mike was open a bunch in that ball game,” Arians said. “He didn’t get targeted. That was all. Mike was open.”
Buccaneers receivers coach Kevin Garver was more diplomatic Wednesday.
“There’s one football, and Tom does a great job distributing the football,” Garver said, via NFL.com.
Of Buccaneers’ pass catchers with at least 150 routes run this season, Evans has the lowest target rate at 16 percent, according to Next Gen Stats. Evans’ rate is also the 12th-lowest in the entire NFL among qualifying receivers.
“I’ve never met a receiver that doesn’t want the football,” Garver said. “If they’re open they want to get the football. That’s every receiver; that’s every team. Our approach, our mindset, if we can have the best 11 on the field, we want the best 11.”
Evans does have seven touchdowns, with six coming on nine red zone targets.