Tennessee Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans has been named as a breakout candidate by ESPN.
The Tennessee Titans are expecting big things from linebacker Rashaan Evans this season, so it comes as no surprise that ESPN has named him as the team’s breakout candidate in 2019.
ESPN listed a breakout candidate for all 32 NFL teams, and Titans beat writer Turron Davenport chose Evans for Tennessee.
"Evans, in his second year playing for defensive coordinator Dean Pees, is playing with the confidence to become the leader of the defense. The Titans will rely on him to call the plays in the defensive huddle. Evans’ instinctive ability to track running backs is surfacing as he plays more. He will also get more chances to rush the passer by blitzing the interior gaps and seeing opportunities to attack as an edge rusher."
It didn’t take Evans long to stake his claim as this team’s starter at inside linebacker. The second-year pro was listed above Wesley Woodyard on the Titans’ first unofficial depth chart, and he has remained there ever since.
Along with fellow inside linebacker Jayon Brown, the Titans have the best young duo in the NFL on the inside. Brown is excellent in coverage, and Evans has shown he has the chops to be a great run defender in this league.
Jayon Brown had the league's ninth-highest grade among linebackers in 2018 pic.twitter.com/sWy1kWuF9F
— PFF (@PFF) March 11, 2019
After a slow start to his rookie campaign, the Alabama product really turned up the heat in the second half, and Pro Football Focus recognized him as one of its “second-half stars.”
Evans earned a lowly overall grade of 46.2 from weeks one to nine, but flipped the script from weeks 10 to 17, earning an overall mark of 80.2. The 23-year-old also finished with a grade of 72.5 against the run, which is impressive when you consider how things started for him.
Rashaan Evans has been one of the top linebackers in the NFL over the final few weeks of the season. pic.twitter.com/bhsXbw0xro
— PFF (@PFF) December 30, 2018
The Titans will also hope Evans can improve a pass-rush that finished with 39 sacks in 2018, tying the team for 16th in the league. Evans can bring pressure up the middle, but he also has the athleticism to get to the quarterback off the edge.
Tennessee needs a shot in the arm against the run, as the Titans ranked No. 18 in that area last season. Evans’ second half performance shows he can be a huge lift to the Titans in that regard.
With so many ways he can affect a game, Evans stands to be one of the biggest difference-makers on the Titans defense this season.