It’s game week, baby! The long drag of the offseason is finally over, and it’s time to get to real football.
The Minnesota Vikings take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their home opener this Sunday. When they do, they’ll be facing off against a new-look Bucs offense for the first game of the post-Brady era. Former first-overall-pick-turned-journeyman Baker Mayfield will be at the helm. Despite his doubters, Mayfield’s shown stretches of competent play in his career. He’s also lost a camp battle to Sam Darnold, though, so take that for what it’s worth.
Ultimately, this offense doesn’t have much that strikes fear into my heart compared to the other teams on Minnesota’s schedule. That is, with the exception of Mike Evans.
Evans is entering his age 30 season. Even for a player whose game was never really built on speed in the first place, it’s still a concern with an older player. With that said, if you’re asking me who’s the receiver in Tampa Bay that scares me the most? Assuming he resolves his contract situation, it’s Mike Evans, and I’m not sure it’s close.
Evans is simply too big and strong to ignore. And while he’s fallen a bit from the national zeitgeist, he’s coming off a whopping nine-straight 1,000 yard seasons. While it seems many NFL fans have looked past Evans at the shiny new toys in the league, the 6’5” menace has been one of the best receivers in football. He presents an interesting challenge for the Vikings’ defense.
The Buccaneers have a talented group of veteran receivers who will demand defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ attention. Chris Godwin and Russell Gage are both productive, especially Godwin when healthy. And they’ve got a talented young runner in second-year back Rachaad White.
Still, this is a team in serious transition. They lost starting tackle Donovan Smith in free agency. They are also starting a below-average bridge quarterback, and are breaking in a new offense. As they shift from the power/vertical scheme of Bruce Arians to the in-vogue “wide zone” McVay/Shanahan offense that has swept over most of the league (the Vikings included), there will likely be some growing pains.
A good defense should be able to shut down this Bucs’ offense consistently. The question is: How much confidence do we have that Minnesota is actually a good defense? Flores will try to work his magic, but there’s still weaknesses on this defensive roster.
If I’m scheming against this Bucs team, it all starts and stops with Evans. His ability to work all levels of the field and make tough catches will be invaluable for a team that may not have great accuracy from their quarterback. Opportunities could be plentiful, as the Vikings secondary is easily one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster. And if Minnesota shifts coverage over to Evans, Godwin and Gage are more than capable of making you pay.
That’s why I believe Byron Murphy is the key for Flores this Sunday. If Murphy can mitigate Evans in single coverage, it changes the entire complexion of the defensive strategy.
Murphy is more than athletic enough to match up with Evans, stride for stride, and may have the length and physicality necessary to contest him for the tough catches. Murphy demonstrated the capability to shadow talented pass-catchers during his last few years in Arizona and contended well against physical receivers like D.K. Metcalf and Cooper Kupp. Neither of those two guys are 6’5” like Evans, though, so Murphy will need to play hard to make up for the six-inch deficit.
And while I can just imagine a Bucs’ fan reading this and begging for Minnesota to leave Evans in single coverage, with the current state of Minnesota’s corners, it may be a necessary evil. With Akayleb Evans and rookie Mekhi Blackmon starting alongside Murphy in the secondary, shading as much extra safety help over them as possible may be unavoidable. Akayleb Evans has shown admirable play entering his first season, and Blackmon was far from a disaster in camp, but they’re clearly a matchup to exploit.
Murphy may be in for a tough assignment, but he’s shown he can handle it. He may be able to survive without the extra help, but I’m not sure these young guys can. It also frees up Flores to manipulate the front seven to tee off on the Buccaneers’ new running attack, as their scheme overhaul attempts to salvage one of the worst ground games in the league last season.
Evans isn’t the kind of guy we can expect to be blanketed with one player on Sunday. But even adjusting for expectations, Murphy may be able to stymie him just enough. What if I told you Murphy held Evans to a statline like six catches for 80 yards? Personally, I’d take that in a heartbeat. And with Tampa’s issues at quarterback and offensive tackle, that may be attainable.
Minnesota’s young secondary has a chance to prove itself and gain some confidence this week. They face some quality skill talent but could be in a very advantageous position in their matchups. If they can grow from this experience against a softer challenge, it could pay dividends as the season wears on.
Good corners beg for opportunities like this. Let’s see how Byron Murphy rises to the challenge.
