Akayleb Evans

Akayleb Evans (born June 22, 1999) is an American professional football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane before transferring to the Missouri Tigers.

Early life Evans grew up in McKinney, Texas and attended McKinney High School. As a senior, he recorded 48 tackles, five pass breakups, and one fumble recovery and was named second-team all-District 10-6A. Evans initially committed to play college football at Kansas, but later flipped his commitment to Tulsa.

College career Evans began his collegiate career with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. As a freshman, he played in nine games with five starts and had 26 tackles and two passes broken up. Evans suffered a shoulder injury in the third game of his junior season and used a medical redshirt. He played in all nine of Tulsa's games during their COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and finished the year with 30 tackles (27 solo tackles), one sack, three passes broken up, and one forced fumble. After his redshirt junior season, Evans entered the transfer portal.

Evans transferred to Missouri as a graduate transfer. He had considered offers from Notre Dame, Texas, Texas Tech, and Jackson State. In his lone season with the Tigers, Evans was a starter at cornerback and finished the season with 28 tackles, two forced fumbles, six passes broken up, and one interception. After the conclusion of his college career, Evans played in the 2022 Senior Bowl.

College statistics Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Total Solo Ast Sack PD Int Yds TD FF FR TD 2017 Tulsa 9 6 26 20 6 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2018 Tulsa 9 5 21 13 8 0.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2019 Tulsa 3 3 6 2 4 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2020 Tulsa 9 9 29 24 5 1.0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2021 Missouri 11 8 30 27 3 0.0 6 1 0 0 2 0 0Career 41 31 112 86 26 1.0 17 1 0 0 3 0 0

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings Evans was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 118th pick of the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. Evans entered his rookie season as the fourth cornerback on the depth chart behind Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, and Chandon Sullivan. He was placed on injured reserve on December 7, 2022.

On November 23, 2024, Evans was waived by the Vikings.

Carolina Panthers On November 25, 2024, Evans was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.

On March 11, 2026, Evans re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year contract.

NFL career statistics Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Total Solo Ast Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR TD 2022 MIN 10 2 23 19 4 0.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 2023 MIN 15 15 65 49 16 0.0 0 7 1 1 1.0 1 0 3 0 0 2024 MIN 2 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 27 17 89 68 21 0.0 0 9 1 1 1.0 1 0 4 0 0