Evans is the only player in NFL history to start a career with eight consecutive seasons notching at least 1,000 receiving yards. He holds Buccaneers’ franchise records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. That’s future Hall of Fame stuff, folks. Evans plays wide receiver, a position populated by a lot of prima donnas who bitch about not getting enough balls thrown their way (see: Antonio Brown). Evans, he just plays. And produces. He doesn’t seek out enough spotlight to be a superstar, but the Bucs are just fine with him being the star—and model teammate—that he is. Several times the Bucs have nominated Evans as their Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, a prestigious award that recognizes excellence on and off the field. And he’s not afraid of a fight. @mikeevans on Instagram

This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 5, 2022.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...