An All-Star Again! Mike Evans Headed Back to the Pro Bowl

Evans was second in the NFC in receiving yards behind only Jones, who led the league with 1,677. Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins, who will play for the AFC in the Pro Bowl, was second with 1,572. The only qualifying players to finish with a higher per-catch average than the Buccaneers’ star were teammate DeSean Jackson (18.9) and former New England wideout Josh Gordon (18.00).

Evans will join Green Bay’s Davante Adams, Minnesota’s Adam Thielen and New Orleans’ Michael Thomas, on the NFC squad, comprising a very dangerous quartet of pass-catchers for the conference. Adam’s led the conference in touchdown receptions with 13, Thomas was first in the NFL with 125 catches and Thielen racked up 113 receptions, 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns.

Evans joined the Buccaneers as the seventh-overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He’s now made the Pro Bowl at the end of two of his first five seasons, which have been almost uniformly outstanding. In fact, he is now just the third player in league history, along with Randy Moss and A.J. Green, to begin his career with five straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Evans, who only turned 25 during last year’s training camp, has 6,103 career receiving yards, the sixth most by any NFL player in his first five seasons.

Evans won’t have far to go to play in his second Pro Bowl, as this year’s game will once again be held in Orlando at Camping World Stadium. He is currently the only Buccaneer representative on the squad, though defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was also identified as an alternate in December. The selection of Evans means the Buccaneers will not be lacking representation in the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2009.