#26

Akayleb Evans

Former defensive back at Missouri. 2021: 1 interception, 6 pass breakups, 28 tackles.

DB · Missouri · Sr. · #26

6′2″ · 198 lb · Mckinney, TX

CFB Index 30 · #188 of 321 cornersLow confidenceMinnesota — drafted 2022, Rd 4, Pick 13, #118 overall

The story

Former defensive back at Missouri. 2021: 1 interception, 6 pass breakups, 28 tackles.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Tulsa in 2017.
Transferred from Tulsa to Missouri in 2021.
Drafted round 4 by the Minnesota in 2022.

His career, year by year

Recruiting

2★

CB recruit

No. 2227 nationally · Signed with Tulsa

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

How it ended

Five seasons at Missouri, 110 tackles — drafted at #118 overall by Minnesota.

His career

He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

20177 games

Signed with Tulsa2-star out of McKinney

202111 games

Entered the portal

2022

Drafted by Minnesotaround 4, pick 118

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#2227 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2017–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

R4 · #118

Minnesota · 2022

Coaching lineage · 2017–2021

2 coaches

2017–2019

Barry Odom

Missouri

2020–2021

Eli Drinkwitz

Missouri

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Barry Odom → Eli Drinkwitz. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

MinnesotaEntering 5th NFL season

#118Rd 4 · Pick 13

MinnesotaEntering 5th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2017Tulsa2-10HC: Philip Montgomery · Run-heavy

2018Tulsa3-9HC: Philip Montgomery · Run-heavy

2019Tulsa4-8HC: Philip Montgomery · Balanced, fast tempo

2020Tulsa6-3HC: Philip Montgomery · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2021Missouri6-7HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

30Below cohort / limited sample #188 of 321?

Low confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (94th percentile). Concern: sacks (24th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Passes defended#136 / 2743 · 94th pct

Solo tackles#813 / 2743 · 69th pct

QB hurries#827 / 2743 · 59th pct

Tackles#1475 / 2743 · 45th pct

Interceptions#320 / 824 · 31st pct

Tackles for loss#1821 / 2743 · 28th pct

1.0

Sacks#1435 / 2743 · 24th pct

0.0

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	2.2	0.2	0.0	0.7
Road5g	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.4

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	2.7	0.1	0.0	0.4
Weeks 8+4g	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.8

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Eli Drinkwitz

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

30 · #188 of 321 corners

Two-star recruit. Now #188 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Missouri	28	25	1.0	0.0	6	1	--
2020	Tulsa	29	24	1.5	1.0	3	--	--
2019	Tulsa	6	2	0.0	0.0	2	--	--
2018	Tulsa	21	13	1.0	0.0	4	--	--
2017	Tulsa	26	20	0.0	0.0	2	--	--
Career		110	84	3.5	1.0	17	1	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2021

W 59–28

vs Southeast Missouri State

1 SOLO · 1 TOT

Dominant 31-point win at home against Southeast Missouri State.

With C. Bazelak — 346 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 92.8 · J. Hester — 2 rec · 79 yds · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 34-24vs Central Michigan	1	1	0.0	1	2
Wk 2	L 28-35@ Kentucky	1	1	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 59-28vs Southeast Missouri State	1	1	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 34-41@ Boston College	8	6	0.0	—	0	Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 5	L 24-62vs Tennessee	1	1	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	W 48-35vs North Texas	2	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 14-35vs Texas A&M	5	4	1.0	—	1
Wk 9	W 37-28@ Vanderbilt	3	3	0.0	—	2
Wk 10	L 6-43@ Georgia	2	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 31-28vs South Carolina	3	3	0.0	—	1
Wk 13	L 17-34@ Arkansas	1	1	0.0	—	0
Total		28	25	1.0	1	6

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology