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At the age of 23, Mike Evans is already one of the premier receivers in the NFL. So, the Buccaneers made the obvious decision Monday, when they picked up his fifth-year option for 2018.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht announced the move at the first day of the Buccaneers' offseason workouts.

"Yeah we picked up his fifth-year option today," Licht said, via NFL.com. "Mike, in terms of his future here, I know I can speak for myself and I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for everybody here, well I know I am, but Mike is a Buc for life. Today, we picked up his option. It wasn't a very tough decision. We'll take it from there. I can promise you at some point, I can't tell you when, we'll be contacting his agent to try to make him an offer that will make him a Buc for long term."

So, it definitely sounds like the two sides will eventually reach a long-term agreement, which makes sense. Since getting drafted in the first round in 2014, Evans has averaged 79.3 receptions, 1,192.7 yards, and nine touchdowns per season. In that span, he ranks seventh in receiving yards and third in receiving touchdowns among all players, which means Evans is going to get paid like one of the game's best receivers. 

Partially due to Evans' emergence -- along with Jameis Winston's potential and the signing of DeSean Jackson -- the Buccaneers are becoming trendy playoff pick. A season ago, they finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. But at one point, they were 8-5. So, the playoffs were a real possibility for them until they lost two of their last three games. At the end of March, CBS Sports' Pete Prisco wrote that the Buccaneers "will be a playoff team in 2017."

Of course, it's worth noting that they finished with a minus-15 point differential, which isn't the best sign. They also finished 22nd in DVOA, per Football Outsiders. That's also not the best indicator. But if their young core continues to improve, the Buccaneers might just back up Prisco's prediction.