NFL Draft
2/7/25
6 min read
Mitchell Evans 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Notre Dame Fighting Irish TE
Height: 6052 (verified)
Weight: 256lbs (verified)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Hunter Long
Scouting Overview
Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans won't redefine the tight end position by any means — he’s actually more of a throwback to what the position was about 20 years ago. Evans is a sturdily built player with desirable mass and strength to play as an extension of the offensive line in the run scheme.
Evans complements his in-line blocking capabilities with toughness at the catch point, a large catch radius, and good hands. There is a surprising touch of wiggle when Evans gets the ball in his hands, but make no mistake — this is not a man-beater or someone who will turn tacklers inside out after the catch. He’s a low-yield target in the passing game who can be a reliable underneath chain mover.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| TE | Mitchell Evans | Notre Dame | 4.74 | 1.55 | 115 | 31 | 7.25 | 4.4 |
Positives
- Boasts an impressive win rate on contested targets — showcasing soft hands and sturdy frame
- Surprisingly body and ball adjustments on opportunities that test his catch radius
- Illustrates viable work as a pass protector and run blocker from in-line assignments
Negatives
- Lacks ideal athletic profile to serve as a matchup dictator or focal point of a passing offense
- Does not possess the route running diversity to separate against stout man coverage
- Injuries have cost him 1/3rd of his sophomore and junior seasons — including an ACL tear in 2023 and a broken foot in the preseason of 2022
Background
Evans is from Wadsworth, OH, and played high school football for Wadsworth HS. There, he was the team’s starting quarterback for his senior season after playing tight end as a junior — and Evans also played basketball in addition to his play on the gridiron. He was rated as a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) and declared to Notre Dame as a member of the team’s 2021 recruiting class over programs like Boston College, Duke, Michigan State, and Virginia.
Evans arrived on campus as a backup to TE Michael Mayer and played in 13 games as a true freshman. Injury cost him the first month of the 2022 season, but Evans played in eight games as a true sophomore before playing in another eight games (7 starts) as a junior in 2023. Evans put together a full season of play for his final year with the Irish’s run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Evans accepted an invitation to participate in the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl.
Tale Of The Tape
Evans is a sturdy, reliable talent who will most likely thrive in the margins while filling a slew of unsung hero roles for an NFL franchise. This isn’t the player you center your offense around, and it isn’t the player who will take your team to the next level, but every franchise needs players like Mitchell Evans.
As an in-line blocker, Evans is stout with firm hands. He illustrates a good initial pop with his punch. He does well to peel off combination blocks on the edge to help create some initial movement at the line of scrimmage before latching and sealing a shooting linebacker or a crashing end playing from wide. Evans connects on these blocks from a number of angles and leverage points, including as a traditional ‘Y’ with his hand on the line of scrimmage or as an ‘H’ set into the backfield.
Evans’ menu for assignments is extensive. The Irish shifted and motioned him quite frequently to buy extra leverage and margin for his angles to connect on blocks. This will be key for a number of tight end heavy offenses that like to change the picture pre-snap and gather additional information with their pre-snap process. Evans can help.
The same appeal as a blocker does not exist in space when playing against safeties and nickel defenders. Evans struggles to mirror and latch in these environments when playing against more dynamic talents with more grass to cover. You’d be better off sealing on outside concepts or pinning a linebacker with a big receiver or a true flex tight end.
Evans has shown good framing, communication, and anchoring in pass protection. His workload is modest, but he illustrates an understanding of fronts and is capable of dropping his hips to protect the width of the pocket.
In the passing game, Evans’ profile is more modest. He’s made some big plays down the field and has shown the ability to adjust to the football while tracking it in the air. He should be considered reliable in attacking the ball at its highest point, but his ability to create the separation needed to consistently gather targets is a different story.
He lacks the runaway burst and explosiveness to defeat man coverage, and his route running is modest. As a result, he’s more of a zone buster and big body to sit down underneath and take profits.
Evans has shown the ability to play through contact at the catch point and boasts reliable hands, so he has some of the elements of a safety blanket for the quarterback. With a career drop rate of six percent, a career contested catch rate of 67 percent, and 70 percent of his career receptions going for first downs or touchdowns, there is value in his targets.
However, they’re more rooted in taking what the defense is conceding than in taking the fight to the opposition and dictating the terms of coverage. Playing with volume into his role in the passing game feels like the makings of a limited attack.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Evans projects as a TE2 at the NFL level. Evans is a viable in-line talent with the build and blocking ability to serve as a primary blocker and add-on to the core while showing the hands and contested catch ability to play as an underneath zone buster and checkdown spacer in the passing game.
Teams that boast explosive wide receivers could feasibly lean on him as an ancillary/low-level starter in an 11p offense.
Grade: 72.00/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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