Darrynton L.A. Evans (born July 9, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Appalachian State Mountaineers The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and were ...

and was selected by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the third round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

Early life

Evans attended

New Smyrna Beach High School New Smyrna Beach High School (NSBHS) is a public high school located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States. About The school mascot is the Barracuda, commonly referred to as the "Cuda." The high school opened in 1963 on what is now calle ...

New Smyrna, Florida New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The downtown section of the city is located on the west side of the Indian River and the ...

. He committed to

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

to play

College career

As a true freshman at Appalachian State in 2016, Evans played in 12 games rushing for 217 yards on 48 carries. He also returned 25 kicks for 563 yards and a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. Evans missed 2017 due to injury and redshirted. Returning from the injury in 2018, he entered the season as a backup to Jalin Moore but took over as the starter after Moore was injured for the season, and rushed for 1,187 yards on 179 carries and seven touchdowns. As a kick returner he had 490 yards on 15 returns and had a touchdown. He was named the MVP of the

2018 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship Game was played on December 1, 2018, between the Mountaineers of Appalachian State and the Ragin' Cajuns from Louisiana. The game was played at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina, due to Appalac ...

after totaling 218 total yards. As a full-time starter in 2019, Evans was the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,480 yards with 2,064 all purpose yards and 24 total touchdowns. He was also named MVP of the

2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game The 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina, to determine the 2019 champion of the Sun Belt Conference. The game, the co ...

and 2019 New Orleans Bowl. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Evans was selected by the

with the 93rd overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on October 15, 2020, with a hamstring injury. He was activated on December 7, 2020. In Week 15 against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, Evans recorded 57 yards from scrimmage and a receiving touchdown during the 46–25 win. This was Evans' first career touchdown. Evans finished the 2020 season playing in five games with 14 rushes for 54 yards, two receptions for 27 yards and a receiving touchdown, and nine kickoff returns for 206 yards as a backup to rushing yards and touchdowns leader

Derrick Henry Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American professional football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "King Henry", he is known for his imposing style of play and larger build t ...

. He recorded one carry for one yard in the Titans' 20–13 loss to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the wildcard round of the playoffs. On September 2, 2021, Evans was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on October 23. On October 29, 2021 he was placed back on injured reserve for a second time ending his season. On March 10, 2022, Evans was waived by the Titans.

Chicago Bears (first stint)

On March 11, 2022, Evans was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 27.

Indianapolis Colts

On March 31, 2023, Evans signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was waived on May 2, 2023.

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

On July 25, 2023, Evans signed with the

. He was released on August 29, 2023.

Miami Dolphins (first stint)

On August 31, 2023, Evans signed with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

practice squad.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

On October 9, 2023, Evans was signed by the Bears off the Dolphins practice squad. He was waived on November 16.

Miami Dolphins (second stint)

On November 21, 2023, Evans was signed to the Dolphins practice squad. On November 23, 2023, Evans was elevated to the active roster. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On January 23, 2024, Evans signed a reserve/future contract with the Bills. He was placed on injured reserve on August 27. He was released on October 29.

Chicago Bears (third stint)

On November 6, 2024, Evans was signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 21.

Buffalo Bills (third stint)

On March 13, 2025, Evans signed a one-year contract with the Bills.

Personal life

Evans is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He is married to Aiyana Willoughby. He runs a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

channel called ItzLiveee.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioAppalachian State Mountaineers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Darrynton 1998 births Living people Players of American football from Volusia County, Florida American football running backs Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Tennessee Titans players Chicago Bears players Indianapolis Colts players Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players