Mike Evans' great offseason has him in the best shape in years and that's a scary thought for NFL defenses

There are plenty of great players in the NFL, but the path to being labeled "elite" is cemented through consistency. If a player truly wants to be thought of as a blue-chip-type guy, then he can't just play well - he has to play well on a year-to-year basis for a long time.

Well, these days, it's hard to think of a better example than Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans when one wants to define consistency.

We all know by now that Evans is the only player in league history to record at least 1,000 receiving yards in their first 10 seasons. He's officially obliterated Randy Moss' previous record of six seasons and now, he has Jerry Rice's record of 11-straight 1k receiving yards on his mind as he enters Year 11.

"I don't, like, list off things, but that's one of them that's in the back of my mind, because everybody's talking about it, and that's been a record around for how many years now, over 20 years?" Evans talked about on the first day of training camp . "So that's something I definitely want to accomplish and just help the team win ball games and be better than we were, last year."

Training camp couldn't have gotten off to a better start for Evans. Per reports, Evans looked great and hauled in several receptions on Day 1. And, per head coach Todd Bowles, Evans came into camp in the best shape he's been in, "in 3-4 years".

"Oh man, I had a great offseason," said Evans. "I usually always have a great offseason. I get to spend time with my family, relax, recover, and just do things I like to do, and that's work and just hang out with my family, play video games, go to the movies, do all that fun stuff, and I got it out the way, and I'm ready to work...

"... It helps a lot if you go to OTAs. So I went to OTAs this year for a few weeks, and that helped me a ton. Last year, I went about one week, so it was a little bit harder for me to learn the system quicker."

Liam Coen's offense should be a better version of Dave Canales' 2023 version

Remember, last year, when Evans was quoted as saying he'd never been as wide open as he'd been experiencing during Bucs practices? And then remember how we repeatedly saw him wide open, making big plays, throughout the year?

More of that should be expected in 2024, but at an even higher rate. Mostly because the Bucs will use a lot more motion on offense, which confuses defenses/puts them on their heels by giving the offense a tip on if they're playing man/zone coverage and/or through other reads on certain players. That, along with improved chemistry between Baker Mayfield, Evans, and others should lead to effective results.

"It's a lot more movement, so defenses can't just sit there and just know what we're doing," said Evans. "It's going to be a lot of movement, a lot of eye candy, and that's gonna help me and our team a lot...

"... I talked to him [Coen] even before I re-signed, and that's another reason why I wanted to sign back, because he had all these plans to continue to give me the ball. And, you know, I love to hear that."

Chris Godwin should play a bigger role in 2024, as well

Speaking of "helping the team a lot", Godwin should have a nice bounce back year, which is kind of weird to say, considering the guy logged more than 80 receptions and over 1,000 receiving yards, last year. His touchdown production, which dropped to just two receptions, was easily the low point of last year. It comes after recording just three TDs in 2022. The former Pro Bowler averaged seven touchdown receptions, per year, from 2018-2021, including a career-high nine grabs in 2019.

According to Evans, Godwin already looks like he's in midseason form, though. And, he knows exactly how to get those TD numbers back up, which meshes will with how Coen likes to do things via the passing game.

"I mean, y'all saw him today. He looks like he's in midseason form. He was making plays, going deep. [He] looks like the 2019 Chris Godwin, so he's always been an unbelievable leader and player for us, and I expect no different this year...

"... Give him some more red zone opportunities. Kind of looking back at the film in 2019, we gave him a lot of opportunities for fades, seam balls, screens - he can do all those routes we just got to put them on him more."

Each year, and rightfully so, the question of whether or not Evans can hit 1,000 yards for that season will get brought up. Mostly because of how crazy of a record it is.

I'd say, for 2024, go ahead and starting etching his name next to Rice's. Because if this is how camp is starting out, there's an excellent chance he's hitting that mark for the 11th year in a row.