Packers 2016 Recap: S Marwin Evans

2016 Stats

• 6 tackles
• Pro Football Focus: 49.7/100

Expectations going into the season: Low
Expectations were: Met

Analysis: Milwaukee native Evans plays 25 snaps in NFC Championship Game

When training camp began, Marwin Evans was a camp body. By the season’s end, he was a vital member of the secondary in the NFC Championship Game. Not bad for an undrafted free agent from Oak Creek High School in Milwaukee.

Evans was a late addition to the Packers undrafted free agent class, signing with Green Bay after a minicamp tryout with Seattle. With a 42-inch vertical jump – better than any rookie at this year’s combine – and 4.4 speed, he showed enough to stick around past training camp.

How’d Evans not get drafted? After poor grades in high school kept him from a Division I scholarship, Evans had one-year stays at a pair of junior colleges before settling in at Utah State for two seasons. When a scout administered the Wonderlic in college, he didn’t take it seriously and scored a miserable 6 on the test.

After making the Packers coming out of camp, his role on the team was primarily special teams. In Week 3 onward, he was regularly covering punts and kickoffs. 

The injury bug bit Green Bay hard in the secondary, and Evans was called on to play 25 snaps in the NFC Championship Game after Brice was injured on the opening kick. His best moment in the game came on special teams, however, when Evans made a shoestring tackle of Mohamed Sanu after an onside kick to prevent a Falcons touchdown.

Next season, Evans will continue to jockey with fellow undrafted rookie Kentrell Brice for a roster spot. With Micah Hyde a free agent, it’s possible Evans may see the field more in 2017.