Bengals Roster: Chris Evans could fill the Giovani Bernard role

From 2013 to 2020, Giovani Bernard was a great situational running back on the Cincinnati Bengals roster. Drafted in 2013 out of the University of North Carolina, he had a nice rookie season, showing great potential out of the backfield and in the passing game.

In 2014, Cincinnati drafted Jeremy Hill from LSU; a solid power back who complimented Bernard’s smaller and quicker game. Hill stuck to the backfield while Bernard was able to get into the passing game proving to be quite difficult for defenses to plan for.

However, Hill didn’t totally pan out and in 2017, Cincy drafted Joe Mixon, who has proved to be a great back in the running and passing game. Bernard’s role began to diminish but was still used situationally. However, Mixon proved to be an every-down back and dug into Bernard’s playing time and yards. Bernard’s yardage was nearly cut by two-thirds from his time with Hill.

Last season Mixon was sidelined for 10 games with a foot injury. With Mixon entering his fifth season, it’s not crazy to say the Bengals will need to be looking for a new back in a few years. They may have just found Giovanni’s replacement in sixth-round rookie Chris Evans. At his size, he may never be a feature back, but he’ll make a great situational back like Bernard was.

No, he’s not Captain America, but he’s small and has the tenacity of Steve Rogers. Coming in at 5’11” and 216 pounds, Evans has the stature and speed of Giovanni Bernard. He’s stood out in the preseason and has to have earned his spot as the RB3 on the roster after his beautiful touchdown catch from Brandon Allen in the second quarter against Miami on Sunday.

Like Bernard, Evans has the makings of a great situational back. In a tricky third-down situation, or in the red zone, the Bengals could line up with Mixon and Evans in the backfield. These two with the three dangerous wide-outs will pose all kinds of threats to opposing teams in these situations.

Evans can also run the ball, getting the Bengals only touchdown in their first preseason game against the Bucs. He looks special catching out of the backfield though, which is where he excelled in Michigan and could provide some relief for Burrow in special situations. It’s relief for Joe Burrow and Mixon that the Bengals have another Bernard back and Evans can take some weight off of Mixon’s back.

Do you think Evans will continue to shine and inherit Bernard’s role?