Demoted Viking Now Gets His Shot to Overcome the Odds
To begin 2023, Akayleb Evans was a starting corner. In fact, he started most of the season — fifteen games — but that reality was largely overshadowed by a tumultuous end to the year that involved getting benched.
Still only 25, the long and strong Evans is a demoted Viking. Byron Murphy will be joined by Stephon Gilmore when Minnesota needs a pair of corners. When the situation calls for added coverage, Shaq Griffin is the likeliest option to jump off the bench. Evans is thus working on reclaiming some of his formerly strong play while being, at best, the CB4.
Demoted Vikings Akayleb Evans and the CB Depth Chart
Currently, veteran free agents on single-season deals are leading Minnesota’s corner crew.
All of Murphy, Gilmore, Griffen, and Fabian Moreau will be free agents in 2025. One or two could get extended — Murphy, especially — but the current outlook suggests that the 2024 Minnesota Vikings corners will look a lot different from the 2025 Minnesota Vikings corners. Evans stands out as someone who can bridge the gap.
Earlier in the offseason, defensive coordinator Brian Flores sent a decent bit of praise toward Mr. Evans.
“I thought Akayleb did a lot of good things last year,” Flores begins. The DC goes on to note the “ups and downs” while being “banged up” at some point in the season. But, to be sure, there has also been “growth and improvement.”
There’s also a vote of confidence: “He’s strung some good days together and we’re going to need him. And he’ll be there for us. I’m excited about Akayleb. You can’t teach that height, that length, and his speed.” The key rests in “working to be as consistent as he can possibly be.” Oh, and the DC thinks that the young corner does better when he’s having fun, so there’s some encouragement for the young corner to enjoy himself on the field.
In a perfect world, Evans develops into a boundary corner who Minnesota leans on for the next 5+ years. Getting that kind of longevity would be a major win for a 4th-Round pick, especially from within the context of the 2022 Vikings draft class.
Being able to arrive at that goal, though, involves overcoming some tough final games in 2023.
The Week 17 Green Bay game involved getting targeted 10 times while allowing 7 completions and 119 yards. The Week 18 Detroit game involved getting targeted 3 times for 3 completions and 50 yards. Across those games, Evans missed 4 tackles.
At his best, though, Evans is a sturdy corner who can make life difficult in both run and pass defense. He finished the season with 65 tackles, 1 interception, 7 passes defended, and a very notable 3 forced fumbles. When he’s having fun and playing confidently, Evans can create turnovers and be tough to run on.
At some point in the season, Minnesota is going to need Akayleb Evans to step up. Expecting the current top trio to remain unbothered by injury for the full season seems quite unrealistic, especially since Murphy missed time last year and Griffen has already been dealing with a hamstring issue.
The 6’2″ corner will need to be ready for his moment. When it’s time, Evans can hopefully play some decisive, physical football that makes life difficult on the opposition.
Going into Year 3 in the NFL, Akayleb Evans is carrying a $1,175,269 cap charge. Crunch the numbers and that’s just 0.4% of the cap.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
