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NFL player props: Betting on one giant leap from Tampa Bay's Mike Evans

Two weeks after the Josh Allen same name game, the NFL is showcasing a battle of the two best Evans (sorry, Evan McPherson), as Mike Evans' Tampa Bay Buccaneers host Evan Engram's New York Giants as 10.5-point favorites. I like a couple of their props tonight on BetMGM, in addition to a game prop. Here's what I'll be playing:

Mike Evans longest reception over 23.5 yards

Evans' long-distance relationship with Tom Brady couldn't be stronger if they were high school sweethearts attending colleges on opposite coasts. The three-time Pro Bowler has hit this prop in six of his nine games this season, including five of his last six. He's also accomplished this feat in 13 of his last 18 games with Brady and in three of the four games Antonio Brown has missed in 2021. Brown will be out again tonight with an ankle injury.

Evan Engram over 3.5 receptions

The Giants' tight end has been gold when Sterling Shepard is inactive, hitting this prop in three of the wideout's four absences this season. Shepard has been ruled out for tonight's tilt against a Bucs team giving up 6.6 receptions per game to the tight end position. Between Tampa's stinginess against the run and Vegas' expectations for this game script, New York will be forced into throwing the ball this evening. Engram and Kadarius Toney are tied for the most targets behind Shepard and should see plenty of opportunities.

Tampa Bay to use a coach's challenge first

I wrote about this game prop a few days ago, and this matchup provides us with the largest disparity between head coaches that we'll see all season. Bruce Arians leads the NFL over the last five years in average percentage of games that a coach uses his challenge flag (50.9%), while Joe Judge ranks dead last out of anyone who's coached for more than one season (8%).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has a catch of at least 24 yards in 13 of his last 18 games. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has a catch of at least 24 yards in 13 of his last 18 games. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports) (USA Today Sports / reuters)

Stats provided by Pro Football Reference, CBS Sports, and nfl.com.