Mike Evans start or sit: Week 15 fantasy football advice

Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season will kick off tonight with an NFC South showdown featuring the Atlanta Falcons visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

The Buccaneers suffered a shocking 24-20 loss to the Saints on Sunday and their once comfortable lead atop the NFC South has withered away as they now find themselves in a dogfight with the Panthers. Tampa has now dropped four of its last five games, but will be getting a vital piece back tonight with wide receiver Mike Evans being activated off injured reserve.

Below, we’ll go over Evans’ outlook in fantasy football for Week 15.

Fantasy Football analysis: Buccaneers WR Mike Evans

Evans has been activated off injured reserve after missing the last two months with a broken collarbone and is returning just in time to help the team try to secure their fifth straight NFC South division title. The veteran All-Pr0 went down with the injury during their Week 7 loss to the Lions on October 20 and it further compounded his already injury-riddled season as he had missed the three games prior with a hamstring strain.

Evans had recorded 14 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown through three full games of action prior to his ailments and fantasy managers are certainly relieved to see him back in action just in time for the start of the fantasy playoffs. He entered the season as a top-40 overall player in average draft position and his current rostership of 79.6% clearly indicates that managers were willing to reserve a roster spot for him all the way until the end of the season instead of cutting bait. We’ll see if he can give an immediate shot in the arm to a once explosive offense that has struggled in recent weeks.

Start or sit in Week 15?

Start. As CBS Sports’ JP Acosta pointed out, Baker Mayfield’s numbers shoot up when Evans is on the field and one would imagine that he’d want to get the ball to the veteran as often as possible in his return. On top of that, Evans is typically productive on Thursday nights with an average of 5.2 catches and 71.4 yards through 11 career games. If you were waiting for his return, the green light is on.