Can Darren Evans join ex-LSU teammate Cor’Dale Flott in Giants’ secondary?

Cor’dale Flott isn’t the only tall, skinny rookie cornerback from LSU on the New York Giants’ roster. Darren Evans is a 6-foot-3, 174-pound undrafted free agent with 32⅝-inch arms that would land him around the 80th percentile of Combine invites.

Can Evans join Flott in the Giants’ 2022 secondary? Let’s take a look as we continue our player-by-player profiles of the 90-man roster.

By the numbers

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 174
Age: 24
Position: DB
Experience: Rookie
Contract: Year 1 of three-year, $2.56 million undrafted free agent deal | 2022 cap hit: $705,000

Career to date

Evans played three season at Nicholls State University, an FCS school. He played in 37 games, starting all 27 his final two seasons. In his final season at Nicholls, he had five interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

Evans played in 22 games for LSU in 2020 and 2021, starting six games. Five of those starts came in 2021. He was, of course, in a secondary with Flott and No. 3 overall pick Derek Stingley. Evans had 27 tackles and four passes defensed in 2021.

Scouting report from Emory Hunt of Football Gameplan:

Strengths:
- Long and ‘in the way’, as I like to say. He is able to cover so much ground with his length and you can see how it frustrates WRs. At Nicholls, he was the FCS version of Sauce Gardner. Strong in run support.
- Shows good patience to accurately play the ball once it comes his way, and will wait to the last possible moment to stick that arm out to knock it down.
- Has the ability to match up vs bigger WRs, and has done so in that regard rather well.

Areas of Improvement:
- Will need to continue to work on his body frame and strength.
- Lateral agility may be a bit of a question mark; he’s a bit long-legged, so his COD skills may be a bit compromised.

2022 outlook

Pro Football Network called Evans “a cornerback prospect who has flown under the radar. But he’s a tall defensive back with a large upside who is worth keeping on a practice squad this fall.”

Earning a spot on the 16-player practice squad would seem like a good outcome for Evans. He has the height and length the Giants new regime seems to crave at cornerback. If he can add some strength to his 174-pound frame, perhaps he can develop into a useful player.