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The Bucs’ Mike Evans is among the NFL’s best receivers, except when it came to this

 
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans discusses his new contract extension with the football team during a press conference at One Buc Place on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. ALESSANDRA DA PRA   |   Times
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans discusses his new contract extension with the football team during a press conference at One Buc Place on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. ALESSANDRA DA PRA | Times
Published May 25, 2018

TAMPA — Only three players in NFL history have posted 1,000-yard receiving seasons in each of his first four years seasons: Randy Moss, A.J. Green and the Bucs' Mike Evans.

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But by Evans' standards, 2017 was "probably my second-worst year," he said. He finished with 71 catches for 1,001 yards and five touchdowns. He gained only 115 yards after the catch, an NFL-worst average of 1.62 yards. No player with more catches had a lower YAC average last season.

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"I don't know what it was,'' Evans said this week during practices at One Buc Place. "I guess my awareness wasn't what it s hould have been. I guess I've got to work at it more in practice and get more reps at it.

"I have a lot of attention. I've been getting a lot of attention (from defenses) the past few years. There's kind of nowhere for me to go after I get it. I've got to get into the habit of trying to break more tackles when I get it because I'm a big, strong athletic guy and I can do it. There's a lot of my attention my way, so I've just got to get better at that.''

Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLStroud