FanPost

Draft Sage: Scouting Report for Mike Evans

Hey everybody, I'm just doing some of these scouting reports for the fun of it. I'll be going through some of the positions that the Bills have needs at, and doing scouting reports of players at those positions. I know all opinions will not mesh about some players, but that's why they call them opinions. All height, weight, and drill results will be from NFL.com.

WR's

We'll start the WR scouting reports off with the Mike Evans' scouting report.


Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M, Ht: 6'5 Wt: 231

Speed: Evans has a very deceptive speed about him, almost like a ghost speed. He doesn't look fast on tape, but he takes long strides that eat up ground fast and allow him to gain on corners faster than they expect, much like Colin Kapernick's running style. This is not to say that he is a burner. Evans Is definitely not any where close to Sammy Watkins or Goodwin speed. While he was able to out run some corners, in college he will struggle to out run them in the NFL. He will have to rely more on his size and physicality to get away from defenders and make big plays after the catch in the NFL. He doesn't have the pure speed to get deep; this is not to say that he can't get deep, but he will need work on his route running to go on deeper routes. Evan's ability to stop and change directions in a short period is what really impressed me. It is very rare to have a man of his size with his ability to cut and pull while running. Overall, Evans has more than enough speed to be a possession WR, just don't expect him to break it deep without working on his route running.

Speed Rating: 6.5/10

Catching: This is Evan's most "endearing" quality, in my opinion. As Gil Brandt of NFL.com said, "These are the best hands I've seen since Calvin Johnson." Although, I have to say that De'andre Hopkins had some pretty great hands as well. Evans high points the ball very well. You will see several times, as you watch tape on him, that he will extend his arms and snag the ball from the air. With the type of receiver that we're looking for, it's an important trait to have. He will go on stretches were he tends to let footballs into his body, but he generally breaks out of the habit in a series or two. He catches with his hands well. There will be some worrying about his ability to catch with his hands in the NFL due to their smaller size (9"5/8), but let me tell you, that he will be completely fine after catching passes from Johhny Manziel in college, who throws a pretty good fast ball. Evans can tend to double catch, which worries me a little, but those were in-frequent enough that they shouldn't be a major concern. Overall, he has all the catching ability that you would want from a #1 WR in the NFL. No drops in the back of the end zone for this fella.

Catch Rating: 8/10

Route Running: I'll be honest. This was hard for me to judge with Evans due to Manziel constantly running around and forcing him to adjust.

Evans is a very physical route runner, so much so that it's almost a negative because he could get called for pass interference if he continues to play like it in the NFL. A coach is going to have to get a hold of him and tell him to dial back a smidge, or else he'll get called every play. He gets a good burst off the line for a man of his size. his long strides help out there. He uses his hands very well when corners try to get physical with him. Evans runs slants very well, having the ability to put his foot in the ground and cut at a shocking speed for a man of his size. He tends to round out certain routes, but not horribly. He needs to work on mixing up his moves. A corner will lock onto to certain moves that he will do and undercut his routes. Overall, he is not the best route runner in this years draft class, but he not he worst either.

RR Rating: 6/10

Blocking: Evans blocks very well. He had to learn the art due to Manziel's street ball mentality. He gets his hands on corners and doesn't let up. His size helps him out immensely in this area. There really aren't too many problems that I could find in his blocking ability other than that he really never faced many big corners in college ball and could take a few games to get used to some of the stronger corners in the NFL.

Blocking rating 7/10

Special Teams: Evans very rarely participated in ST.

ST Rating: Unavailable

Pro comparison: Brandon Marshall, WR, Bears

I've seen Vincent Jackson comparisons going around, which are pretty accurate as well, but I see him developing into more of a Brandon Marshall type receiver.

Offense Fit: It's more what offense Evans wouldn't succeed in. As long he isn't asked to run very many deep routes too early in his career then he should be fine in what ever offense he plays in.

Overview: Evans is a big physical receiver that is a mismatch nightmare for any defensive coordinator to worry about. He has enough speed to play WR in the NFL, but don't look for him to get behind any defenses on speed alone. He's a #2 receiver right now, but if he works on his route running he will be a #1. He can catch anything that comes his way and will be a QBs best friend with his catch radius. His ideal role would be as a red zone target at first, then, as his route running develops, let him come into a starting role.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.