Fantasy Football: Mike Evans want to produce even bigger 2017 with QB Winston

Mike Evans was a breakout Fantasy receiver in 2016, and Jamey Eisenberg says don't expect a letdown for Evans in 2017 as he and quarterback Jameis Winston continue to improve.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Mike Evans just had the best year of his young career, and he was the No. 2 Fantasy receiver in standard league behind only Jordy Nelson, who outscored him by just two points. But Evans is envious of Julio Jones and Antonio Brown.

It's not because he thinks Jones or Brown are better than him. But Evans wants what Jones and Brown have with their quarterbacks.

Evans sees the rapport between Jones and Matt Ryan and what Brown has with Ben Roethlisberger, and he wants the same thing with Jameis Winston. Now, Evans knows he and Winston have been together for just two years, but he hopes in 2017 that the Buccaneers duo can be looked at in the same class as Ryan-Jones and Roethlisberger-Brown.

"We're young," Evans said after a Pro Bowl practice. "Hopefully we can do that for a long time. We talk about it here and there. We just have to put in the work and make it happen."

There are a lot of great quarterback-receiver combinations in the NFL, including Ryan and Jones, Roethlisberger and Brown. You also have Aaron Rodgers and Nelson, Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton and, when including tight ends, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

There are others, but that's the level Evans wants to reach. And he did his part in 2016 with a breakout season in his third year. He had career highs in catches (96) and yards (1,321) and tied his career high in touchdowns with 12.

Evans was great as a rookie in 2014 with 68 catches for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns. He improved his catches (74) and yards (1,206) in 2015, but his touchdowns dropped to three, which severely impacted his Fantasy value.

But he put it all together in 2016, and we hope this is the production he will deliver year in and year out moving forward. Evans will enter 2017 as a top-five Fantasy receiver worth drafting in the first round. I currently have him ranked No. 5 behind Brown, Odell Beckham, Jones and A.J. Green.

"I thought I played decent," Evans said of his 2016 performance. "I could have played better, but I left a lot of plays out there. I do feel improved. There were some games where I felt real dominant. There were some games where I felt not right. I have to be more consistent and get more durable. Other than that it was a decent year, and I can improve."

Evans had 10 games with double digits in Fantasy points in a standard league in 2016, and he was easily Winston's favorite target with 175. He only had three games with fewer than eight targets, but this was expected coming into the season.

Winston and Evans spent time together in the offseason to build their rapport, and it showed. Evans plans to do the same thing heading into the 2017 campaign, and he wants Winston to be with him at the Pro Bowl next year.

"He's only getting better," Evans said. "I'm happy that we're both young, and we both get to prosper together."

Winston finished 2016 as the No. 10 Fantasy quarterback in standard leagues with 4,090 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and 165 rushing yards and one touchdown. He had seven games with at least 20 Fantasy points and nine with at least 19 points.

But he also had five games with 16 points or less, and the Buccaneers need to give him more weapons aside from Evans and tight end Cameron Brate. That would certainly help Winston in 2017, and he's worth drafting as a low-end starting option with a late-round pick.

And even if Tampa Bay adds another receiver, we don't expect that to impact the rapport with Winston and Evans. That combination is trending up, and we could soon be talking about them like we do with Ryan and Jones and Roethlisberger and Brown.

If that happens, Evans won't have reason to be envious any more.