The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will visit the Carolina Panthers in Week 16. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, specifically regarding WR Mike Evans.
Is Evans Playing in Week 16?
Evans is not on the injury report and barring a surprise, he is expected to play.
We’ll continue to monitor the Buccaneers’ injury report leading up to kickoff for any changes. You can also visit and bookmark our Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Evans in Week 16?
I’d argue that Mike Evans was the most actionable takeaway from Thursday night.
Yes, more actionable than Kyle Pitts single-handedly swinging your playoff quarterfinal matchup.
Pitts was a fantasy starter in good form entering his earth shattering game and he’s a fantasy starter coming out of it. Of course, you’re playing him with more confidence this week than last, but the actionable shift is minimal.
Evans took the field for the first time in nearly two months, looked like he was at risk on every snap physically, and yet he finished with a 6-132-0 stat line against the Falcons.
It didn’t happen by accident. Evans saw a 44.4% target share in the first half (his highest in the first 30 minutes in a regular season game since Week 6 of 2019) and it was clear that the Bucs identified CB Cobee Bryant as a pressure point that they wanted to attack as often as humanly possible, even if it meant weighing down their veteran receiver with vulnerable targets coming off of the broken collarbone.
Week 15 WR Snaps/Routes/Targets
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Chris Godwin: 58 / 38 / 5
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Evans: 31 / 28 / 12
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Emeka Egbuka: 39 / 25 / 7
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Jalen McMillan: 30 / 20 / 2
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Tez Johnson: 14 / 9 / 1
He wasn’t out there on run plays where he was taking unnecessary shots. The Bucs were thoughtful in his snaps and wanted to use their bullets in a meaningful way: that’s all we can really ask for.
The loss last week was a tough result, but if Tampa Bay can sweep Carolina over the next three weeks, they’ll have a home playoff game. That makes this a playoff game and based on what we saw last week, Evans is going to be a prominent part of the game plan.
He’s earned at least eight targets in all of his healthy games this season and it’s hard to project anything different to take place this week (8+ catches, 95+ yards, and 1+ touchdowns in both Panther games last season). I expect Carolina to allocate more resources to covering the future hall of famer than the Falcons did last week with his health unknown and that introduces some downside, but he’s a WR2 across all formats.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Cheat Sheet.
Evans’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
Evans is projected to score 17.5 fantasy points in PPR formats.
We project Evans to have 5 receptions for 76 yards and 0.8 touchdowns. Evans could also add 0 rushing yards.
Check out the free PFSN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Week 16 Weather Impact: Buccaneers at Panthers
The forecast for kickoff is 58 degrees Fahrenheit with 4 mph winds. These are ideal conditions for fantasy production.
