5 NFL players who can cement their Hall of Fame legacy in the playoffs

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The NFL Hall of Fame isn't always nice to accumulators of stats. Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne look like they aren't going to make the Hall despite both being in the top ten all-time in receiving yards. The same will likely be the case for Fred Taylor and maybe even Frank Gore, who is third all-time in rushing yards. If that's the case, that's bad news for Mike Evans.

Evans is still the NFL's most consistent receiver. He just recorded his 10th straight 1,000-yard season. He is the only person in history to do that in his first 10 seasons. It's an insane stat. It is even more insane when you see, outside of Tom Brady for two seasons, his quarterbacks were Mike Glennon, Josh McCown, Jameis Winston, and Baker Mayfield.

The issue with Evans is there are very few memorable moments. We remember him as much for tossing a Tom Brady ball worth tens of thousands of dollars into the crowd as we do for anything he did in his Super Bowl-winning season. Maybe that was because it was in the doldrums of the pandemic, but still. This is how players get into the Hall of Fame. They make huge plays.

That can change this season. Evans is playing on Monday Night Football against a reeling Philadelphia Eagles team that represented the NFC last season. If he can put together an insane game, it will go a long way for Hall of Fame voters. If he can help the Bucs win more than one game and take them to the NFC Championship, it could very well send him to Canton.