A John Mackey Award semifinalist at Notre Dame, Mitchell Evans stepped into a starting role for Carolina by midway through his 2025 rookie season.
Mitchell Evans arrived in Carolina as a fifth-round pick after helping Notre Dame reach the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Despite opening 2025 as the Panthers' third tight end on the depth chart, his blocking and reliable hands in Carolina's multiple-tight-end sets earned him significant playing time as a rookie.
Path to the league
Evans was Notre Dame's top tight end in 2024, catching 43 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns while helping the Fighting Irish win the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl en route to a national title game appearance. He was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, given annually to college football's top tight end. The Carolina Panthers selected him in the fifth round, 163rd overall, of the 2025 NFL Draft via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens.
Career highlights
Evans became the fifth Notre Dame tight end drafted over a seven-year span and the first Notre Dame player selected by Carolina since Tommy Tremble in 2021. Multiple draft analysts flagged him as one of the Panthers' best value picks of the 2025 class given his blocking polish for a rookie.
2025 season recap
Evans played in all 17 games and started 10 for Carolina in 2025, logging 391 offensive snaps thanks to the team's frequent use of multiple-tight-end formations. He caught 19 of 25 targets for 171 yards and two touchdowns while adding one carry, serving primarily as a blocker but showing dependable hands when targeted.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Mitchell Evans (American football)
- ESPN: Mitchell Evans
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Receiving
17 games played▶Receiving · career
| Year | Team | GP | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | panthers | 17 | 19 | 171 | 9.0 | 2 | 25 |
▶Rushing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | panthers | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Tight End
- Group
- offense
- College
- Notre Dame
- Hometown
- Wadsworth, OH, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
Latest news about Mitchell Evans
All news →Injuries Shadow Panthers' Team Scrimmage in Front of 40,000 Fans
Carolina's first home appearance since its playoff loss saw Mitchell Evans carted off with an ankle injury, while Derrick Brown and Devin Lloyd sat out on scheduled veteran days.
Panthers TE Mitchell Evans Carted Off at Training Camp Practice
Coach Dave Canales said the second-year tight end got rolled up on and that the team is 'optimistic' the ankle injury isn't serious, pending further tests.
