Evan McPherson

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Evan McPherson
refer to caption
McPherson kicking for the Bengals in 2021
No. 2 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1999-07-21) July 21, 1999 (age 22)
Fort Payne, Alabama
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Fort Payne (Fort Payne, Alabama)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:2021 / Round: 5 / Pick: 149
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
AFC Special Teams Player of the Month (Dec 2021)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2021
Field goals made:26
Field goals attempted:31
Field goal %:83.9
Longest field goal:58
Touchbacks:54
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Evan McPherson (born July 21, 1999) is an American professional football player who is a kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the 149th overall pick, making him the first and ultimately only kicker to be selected.[1][2][3]

Early career[]

McPherson started his football career at Fort Payne high school in Fort Payne, Alabama, where he spent four seasons as the team's kicker and punter. At Fort Payne, he made a 60-yard field goal and an 84-yard punt, both kicks one yard short of the Alabama High School record. He made first-team All-State in 2017.[4] McPherson went on to play college football at Florida from 2018-2020 before choosing to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.[5][6] At Florida, McPherson made 51-60 field goals, setting a Southeastern Conference record for career field goal percentage (minimum 50 attempts),[7] and 149-150 extra points. He made 5 of 8 career field goal attempts from at least 50 yards.[8]

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m) 		185 lb
(84 kg) 		29 in
(0.74 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)
All values from Pro Day[9][10]

McPherson was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round, 149th overall, of the 2021 NFL Draft.[11] He signed his four-year rookie contract with Cincinnati on May 17.[12] McPherson was a perfect 5/5 on field goals during the Bengals three 2021 preseason games, including a 57-yard kick. At the end of the pre-season, the Bengals released their only other kicker on the roster, Austin Seibert, and named McPherson the starter for the 2021 regular season.[13]

McPherson made his first regular-season field goal attempt, a 53-yarder, in the season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 12, 2021. During overtime, McPherson kicked a 53-yard game-winning field goal to secure a 27-24 win, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[14][15] On November 21, McPherson tied an NFL record by making three field goals from over 50 yards in one game, going 4/4 on kicks from 54, 53, 51, and 47 yards in a 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, securing his second AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award in the process.[16][17] He also set the franchise record for most 50-yard field goals made in a season, breaking the old record of 4 set by Horst Muhlmann in 1970. On December 19th he set the franchise record for longest field goal for the Bengals with a 58 yard kick against the Denver Broncos.[18]

Personal[]

McPherson's older brother Logan was also an all-state kicker for Fort Payne High School and went on to play punter for Louisiana Tech University. His younger brother Alex made an All-State as a kicker with Fort Payne in 2019, and as a punter in 2020.[19] Alex is currently the highest-ranked kicker in the 2022 class.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ "Bengals take 2021 draft's lone kicker with fifth-round pick of Evan McPherson". NFL.com.
  2. ^ "Florida's Evan McPherson is first kicker taken in 2021 NFL draft, going to Bengals in fifth round". sports.yahoo.com.
  3. ^ Goodall, Zach. "Former Gators Kicker Evan McPherson Drawing Plenty of NFL Interest". Sports Illustrated Florida Gators News, Analysis and More.
  4. ^ https://floridagators.com/sports/football/roster/evan-mcpherson/13769
  5. ^ Thompson, Edgar. "UF kicker Evan McPherson leaves Gators, declares for NFL draft". orlandosentinel.com.
  6. ^ Goodall, Zach. "Former Gators Kicker Evan McPherson Drawing Plenty of NFL Interest". Sports Illustrated Florida Gators News, Analysis and More.
  7. ^ Minich, Matt (May 1, 2021). "Analyzing the Bengals' selection of Evan McPherson in Round 5". Cincy Jungle.
  8. ^ "Evan McPherson - Football". Florida Gators.
  9. ^ "Evan McPherson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "Evan McPherson, Florida, K, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "In Round 5, Bengals Shore Up Kicking Game With Evan McPherson". Bengals.com. May 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/17/21". Pro Football Rumors.
  13. ^ "Evan McPherson Wins starting job in Cincinnati - Fantasy Football News".
  14. ^ Cincinnati Bengals [@Bengals] (September 12, 2021). "Evan McPherson's first career field goal attempt is good from 53" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 15, 2021). "Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Rams QB Matthew Stafford lead Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  16. ^ https://www.cincyjungle.com/2021/11/22/22795391/bengals-evan-mcpherson-ties-nfl-record-yard-field-goals-game
  17. ^ "NFL Players of the Week". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  18. ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/evan-mcpherson-ties-bengals-franchise-222313360.html
  19. ^ "Fort Payne's Evan McPherson wants to be 1 of the 32". 17 May 2021.
  20. ^ "2022 Top Kicker Recruits". 247Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
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