Third-Round Draft Choice Signs Contract

NASHVILLE – Third-round draft pick Darrynton Evans is the fourth member of the Tennessee Titans’ 2020 draft class to sign a contract.

His representatives published a photo on Twitter of the running back out of Appalachian State as he put pen to paper Wednesday morning. The team formally announced the deal later in the afternoon.

With Evans’ deal done, first-round pick Isaiah Wilson, a tackle out of Georgia, and second-round choice Kristian Fulton, a cornerback, out of LSU are Tennessee’s only draft picks who remain unsigned.

#ElementFamily congrats @ItzLiveee https://t.co/y4OgRnDFmG
— Chris Singletary (@CSing57) July 22, 2020

The Titans chose Evans with the 93rd overall selection and made him the 10th running back off the board.

At 5-foot-10, 203 pounds, he is one of the shortest players on the roster but already has a place alongside some big names at his position. Last season, he joined former Titans running back Chris Johnson (East Carolina, 2007) and Christian McCaffrey (Stanford, 2015) as the only FBS players with 1,400 rushing yards, five touchdown receptions and a kickoff return for a score in the same season. Evans was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year with 1,480 rushing yards 198 receiving yards and 386 yards on kickoff returns. He scored 18 rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns and one on a kickoff return.

“I was the lowest-rated recruit in my signing class at App (State),” he said on draft day. “… I would say I definitely carry that chip with me to the NFL. That’s just something that you have to do when you play at Appalachian State, so it’s just something I always have.

“… It really started … just growing up and watching my older brother play football. I was always too young to play with him and my older cousins. Always too young. They told me, ‘You’re not big enough, you’re not old enough. You can’t do this, you can’t do that,’ so from there I just take it upon myself to be like, ‘I can do it.’”

The Titans expect him to serve as a change-of-pace from starter Derrick Henry, as a receiving option out of the backfield and as a potential kick returner.

“A really, really fast player, good with the ball in his hands, good catching it out of the backfield, as a return guy,” general manager Jon Robinson said on draft day. “… I like the fact he’ll lower a shoulder and try to run through tackles. So, I think from a mindset standpoint, you see his willingness to play tough, to hit the creases in the kick return.

“You know, you’ve got to be somewhat fearless back there on the kick return when you’ve got guys flying down the field at you and you try to hit that crease 100 miles per hour.”