Jahri Evans wasn't a top NFL draft pick, but his career retrospective is among the best to ever do it at his position.
That's why the 12-year NFL veteran was honored recently with his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, but he's got an even bigger goal in mind down the road.
“I really do think that I was one of the best to ever do it. Obviously so does a lot of people," Evans said while speaking with Kristian Garic on SportsTalk this week.
Listen to the full interview with Jahri Evans in the player below. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"I think the way I played and the style that I played, I did more than a lot of great guards have done. You talk about the run game, the passing game, the screen game. I really prided myself on being able to be a fixture in all of those areas on a very dynamic offensive squad," Evans continued. "Hopefully Canton is in my future, it’s definitely always been a goal of mine to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And all the hard work is done already, right?”
The 6-4 native of Philadelphia can make his case based on his stellar decade in New Orleans after being drafted in 2006, the first in the Sean Payton era. It was a draft that will be remembered forever in Saints lore, in that it also landed Reggie Bush, Roman Harper, Zach Strief and Marques Colston, all of whom were key contributors to the Saints' Super Bowl title and all but Strief has already been inducted into the Saints' Hall of Fame, with the current assistant OL coach likely up high on the list of future inductees.
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Evans was a 6-time Pro Bowler, made All-Pro five other times and was a member of the NFL 2021s all decade-team and was a member of the Saints' 50th anniversary team. Should he be enshrined in Canton, he'd join Sam Mills, Morten Andersen, Ken Stabler, Willie Roaf, Rickey Jackson, Earl Campbell, Doug Atkins and Jim Taylor as former Saints in the Hall of Fame.
He'd also expect to be joined by his former coach Sean Payton, who retired this past season but seems likely to return to the field at some point after a stint in broadcasting. Either way the coach has already done enough, Evans said, to earn a bust in Canton. There are many a Payton story to recall from the field, but likely the most amusing was when the coach -- at that point heavily into CrossFit and fitness -- decided to ban bacon from the team's breakfasts.
"Like, coach, you’re gonna try to take away bacon? Like, come on coach — bacon?” Evans said with a laugh.
But the biggest impact was in preparation. Evans recalled his Saints squad, which went 101-75 during his run in New Orleans, would often beat teams well before the ball was snapped. That was a product of preparation more than anything else, and the coaching made that possible.
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"That was just how far ahead he was ahead of defensive coordinators," Evans said. "Being able to manipulate them into playing into defenses that we wanted them to play that we practiced. It really happened that way.”
Evans had stints with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers before signing a one-day contract in New Orleans to retire as a member of the Saints prior to the 2018 season.