Have yourself a day, Akayleb Evans!
Every Minnesota Vikings fan should root for Evans to succeed and find a role on this team. Evans has made every effort since the moment he was drafted to show Vikings fans how excited he is to be in Minnesota, and his love for this team and his teammates is borderline fanatical.
When the Vikings chose him, Evans chose us. And the way he’s fallen in love with the community and organization has been incredibly endearing to watch.
But after this past Sunday, it may be time to stop looking at Evans as just a fun Twitter follow and start viewing him as a true contributor on this football team. Thrown into the fire against the Washington Commanders due to an injury to starting corner Cam Dantzler, Evans did more than just prove serviceable. He balled out.
Those are not numbers to scoff at. The fourth-round pick out of Missouri played smart, sound football on Sunday.
It starts in the running game, where a Taylor Heinicke-led attack would’ve loved to establish the run. Washington tested Evans’ ability to make plays on the perimeter, and the long, athletic Evans was up to the task. He notched six tackles on the day, two of which were for a loss. He proved he had the physicality to make plays in space.
Evans was sticky in coverage as well. Coming into the game, Washington should’ve been salivating at the idea of attacking a reserve corner in a secondary that has already struggled this year. Instead, they only found him in coverage on three targets, which resulted in minus-two yards, despite him playing 70% of the defensive snaps opposite Patrick Peterson.
The Vikings protected Evans with safety help for much of the day, but that doesn’t negate a performance like this. He played perfectly within the scheme and made every play that came his way.
Check out the play of the game for Evans. He is singled up with star receiver Terry McLaurin on a fourth-and-1 in a critical possession in the second half. Washington is trying to seize control of the game on this drive as the reeling Vikings desperately try to hold off a two-score deficit.
McLaurin drew Evans in single coverage, which is exactly how Washington dreamed it up. But Evans made the play.
If McLaurin catches that ball, we likely have a totally different outcome. But he didn’t because the rookie out of Mizzou came up clutch. The depth and quality of play at corner has been among Vikings fans’ biggest concerns this season, but Evans has helped put some of those concerns to rest.
The early returns on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft class have been minimal, even during this 7-1 start. With injuries to Minnesota’s first two draft picks, Andrew Booth and Lewis Cine, right guard Ed Ingram has been the only other rookie to play significant minutes. But now that this remarkably healthy Vikings team may be having their depth tested at defensive back, Evans showing he can be relied upon as a solid rotational piece at corner is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Evans will face passing games more lethal than what Heinicke was able to dish out, perhaps as soon as this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills if Dantzler cannot return from injury. But this performance is a proof of concept for Evans. It demonstrated his developmental floor as a plus contributor and spot starter at corner.
And if we’ve learned anything about his personality so far, Evans will continue to seize every opportunity to prove himself, and improve himself, every day. He’s a player chasing his dream who is keenly aware of just how cool and special that is.
Combine that willingness to work with his athleticism and measurables, and who am I to put a limit on this guy’s ceiling? Washington made the mistake of underestimating him. Who’s next?
