We’ve been counting down the days until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 20234 season against the Carolina Panthers by highlighting each player to wear the corresponding jersey number. While there isn’t anyone currently using No. 73, the man who wore it best is still on the team — Jahri Evans.
Evans currently works for the Saints as the assistant offensive line coach; he was one of the few members of the offensive coaching staff to be retained by new coordinator Klint Kubiak. These days he’s working closely with the position coach John Benton and senior assistant Rick Dennison to get the most out of young draft picks like Taliese Fuaga, Nick Saldiveri, and Trevor Penning.
He built a strong resume for himself as a player. Evans earned six Pro Bowl nods from 2009 to 2013 with the Saints and was selected for the All-Pro list four times, starting all 169 games he played in for the Saints at right guard. He also suited up for 10 playoff games with New Orleans and won a Super Bowl ring. Not bad for a former fourth-round draft pick out of Bloomsburg, a small school in Pennsylvania located a couple hours drive’ northwest of Philadelphia.
Those accomplishments have made Evans a compelling candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He reached the semifinalist stage in 2023, his first year of eligibility, and progressed to the finalist stage in 2024. He just needs to get over that final hump in 2025. He’s already been inducted to the Bloomsburg Athletics Hall of Fame and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, so Evans has plenty of support. The only question is how much longer he has to wait. Maybe he’ll get in with his old quarterback Drew Brees in 2026, but it would be nice to see Evans already there waiting for No. 9 to join him.
