NFL
Evans proves to be Buffalo's best weapon
by MATT KRUEGER Reporter

Wide receiver Lee Evans had a career year in 2006 with 82 receptions for 1,292 yards and eight touchdowns, and is looking to improve on his numbers in 2007. Photo by Patrick McPartland

If the Buffalo Bills are to be seen as a team on the rise in the NFL, the player leading the way must be receiver Lee Evans.

The fourth-year man out of Wisconsin has quickly ascended to elite status in the league and has carved out the most impressive start in a Bills uniform of any wideout in franchise history. With each long reception, each blazed path through the defensive secondary and each touchdown, he aims the Bills back toward the prominent perch they so enjoyed during the golden days of the Super Bowl era.

A 2004 first-round draft choice, Evans has more receptions (178), receiving yards (2,878) and receiving touchdowns (24) than any other Buffalo receiver in his first three years. He has outpaced the great Andre Reed, whose number 83 he now wears, by 20 receptions, 750 yards and eight touchdowns. Jerry Butler is the closest to Evans with 160 receptions, 2,508 yards and 18 touchdowns, which he tallied from 1979 to 1981. Elbert Dubenion also had 18 touchdowns from 1960 to 1962.

Evans also holds the team record for most receiving yards in a game with his astounding 265 mark that he put up against the Houston Texans last year. That broke the 27-year-old record of Butler, who had 255 yards against the New York Jets in 1979.

And the 26-year-old is familiar with the rich history of the franchise.

"It definitely means a lot," Evans said after posting 100 yards on five receptions in Friday's 28-17 preseason loss to the Tennessee Titans. "You've had a lot of great receivers come through here. For me, I'm just trying to get better. It's definitely been a good start. I just want to keep that going this year and into the next few years."

But Evans isn't just making news here in Western New York. He's forcing people all around the league to notice him. Since 2004, only Terrell Owens (17) has had more touchdown receptions of more than 20 yards than Evans. Evans had 15, which tied him with Donald Driver, Santana Moss and Marvin Harrison.

The 2006 season, his first as the team's No. 1 receiver, saw Evans rank fourth in the AFC and sixth in the NFLin receiving yards with 1,292. He also became the first receiver in the NFLto post three 75-yard plus touchdown receptions since Webster Slaughter in 1989. Evans' 265-yard game against Houston, in which he had 11 receptions and two 83-yard touchdowns, was the highest receiving yards output for any player in the NFLin 2006.

But Evans knows he's a marked man. You can't put up numbers like his without opposing defenses highlighting your every move and planning schemes to make you ineffective.

"Going through this preseason, I'm getting looks I've never gotten before," he said. "You've just got to work in a different way. It's never easy to have a good year. Even if you were a little under the radar, people know who you are now, so you definitely get some different looks. For me, it's just a matter of trying to take it to the next level."

Of course, Evans hasn't made it to this echelon alone. He has fourth-year quarterback J.P. Losman, also taken in the first round of the 2004 draft, throwing to him. Losman and Evans are quickly becoming a formidable passing tandem thanks to Losman's ability to throw the deep ball and Evans' speed. Thirteen of Losman's 27 touchdown passes have gone to Evans.

Buffalo hasn't seen this type of aerial attack since Reed, a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist this year, was catching passes over the middle from Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.

"I think, for one, he's a quarterback who likes to throw the deep ball, and I'm a receiver who can go down the field vertically," Evans said of his relationship with Losman. "When you have that innate connection, you have the potential to do something wonderful."

Buffalo will play its final preseason game this Friday at the Detroit Lions.

e-mail: mkrueger@beenews.com