[jwplayer MnGv1PHj-ThvAeFxT]
"He's a tackling corner, a cover corner and he takes the ball away – it's tough to beat him" @shonrp2 showcased on the @nflnetwork's #NFLTop100 pic.twitter.com/VBhxlnfC9c
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 27, 2020
Few divisions around the NFL enjoy as strong of rivalries as the NFC South, with seemingly every team finding a bone to pick with each other. That extends to individual matchups between common opponents, like Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans and New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
When Lattimore was introduced on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020 list at No. 76, Evans was brought on to help discuss what makes Lattimore great. But when it was pointed out that Lattimore shut Evans down in their first meeting last season (NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill charted 29 matchups between them, with Evans failing to catch his only target) the big Buccaneers wideout took issue with how that was framed.
“Woah, woah, woah, he had a really good game against me?” Evans asked. “The defense had a really good game against me.”
Evans continued, “I will talk good about him — he’s a good player. I guess he had a good game and the whole team had a good game.”
When pressed, Evans did highlight a few of Lattimore’s strengths, saying, “He plays really hard. He’s physical. He makes good breaks on the ball. And he can tackle at corner. That’s not something a lot of corners can do, and he can do it.”
Lattimore has won the lion’s share of games against Evans since entering the league in 2017, though his bad day at the office in the 2018 season-opener left a lasting impression on some fans. While most of the hype videos for this year’s opening-day kickoff will focus on Tom Brady dueling Drew Brees, the latest entry in the Lattimore-versus-Evans saga is sure to be must-watch TV.
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