NASHVILLE – It was a leap year in 2019 for Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans.
The team's first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Alabama, Evans had twice as many tackles as he did in his rookie season, and in 2019 he improved in every statistical category on a team that advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
"Any time I am able to help my team, it feels good," said Evans, who also scored a touchdown on a scoop-and-score fumble recovery in a regular season win vs. the Chiefs.
But as he looked back, he also couldn't keep from looking ahead.
He wants to be better in year three.
"I feel like from my first to second year I took my biggest strides in my career," Evans said. "Having fun, and learning from guys around me, I feel like I have become more of a complete player a better player. Moving forward I feel like me maintaining and being consistent in the things that I did last year, I know I am going to do it again next year and leave everything out there on the field.
"I feel like I learned so much and grew so much as a player. I feel like the sky is the limit, and now I just have to get there. I just want to keep playing great football."
Evans racked up a team-high 139 tackles in 2019, a year after posting 63 as a rookie. He also recorded 2.5 sacks, 11 quarterback pressures and 11 tackles for a loss.
In the postseason, Evans racked up 22 more stops, along with two quarterback pressures and three tackles for a loss. He made a pair of big plays in a memorable goal-line stand in a win against the Patriots.
Evans said he already has 2020 vision.
"I am going to work hard to be even better, so I can make more plays, and impact more games," Evans said. "I want to be the best player I can possibly be and I am going to work hard to make that happen. I am not satisfied – far from it. And I feel like that is how we feel as a team. We are not satisfied. We want to be the team people look at as Super Bowl champions."
Titans Online looks back at linebacker Rashaan Evans' 2019 season (Photos: Donald Page)