Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield revitalized his NFL career throwing the football to wide receiver Mike Evans this past season, and thanks to some swift, shrewd maneuvering from the Buccaneers’ front office, the duo will run it back again in 2024.
Speaking about Mayfield this week, Evans offered a rather interesting comparison: Johnny Manziel.
But don’t worry: Evans was likening Mayfield to Manziel in a good way.
“Man, Baker, man, he surprised me a lot,” Evans said in a recent appearance on TexAgs Radio, via JoeBucsFan.com. “With not his game, I knew he was a really good player, just how he is as a leader and a teammate. He really surprised me a lot. He’s similar to Johnny, his playing style. I mean, really similar. So it was easy to adjust to play with him. Shorter quarterback. Great athlete. Throws like a baseball player, like really tight spiral. Really good arm. Improvise, can do all those things. Super tough. So I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this year.”
Evans played collegiate football with Manziel at Texas A&M, so he would certainly know a thing or two about playing with the now former NFL signal-caller.
Funny enough, Manziel also began his professional career with the Cleveland Browns, much like Mayfield.
Of course, Mayfield ended up following a much better path.
The 28-year-old is coming off of an impressive 2023 campaign in which he threw for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 64.3 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 94.6 en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. That came after Mayfield split the 2022 season between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, totaling 10 touchdowns and eight picks.
Meanwhile, Evans hauled in 79 receptions for 1,255 yards and a league-leading 13 scores, making his fifth trip to the Pro Bowl. He also earned a Second-Team All-Pro selection.
With Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans leading the way, the Buccaneers won the NFC South division and proceeded to rout the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs this past year. They then lost to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.
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