No. 2 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Fort Payne, Alabama | July 21, 1999||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2021 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
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 attended the University of Florida before being 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 that year.[1][2][3] Known for his clutch kicking during the Bengals' 2021 season, McPherson is nicknamed "Shooter"[4] (after the Happy Gilmore character of a similar surname) and "Money Mac."[5]
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.[6] McPherson went on to play college football at Florida from 2018-2020 before choosing to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.[7][3] At Florida, McPherson made 51-60 field goals, setting a Southeastern Conference record for career field goal percentage (minimum 50 attempts),[8] and 149-150 extra points. He made 5 of 8 career field goal attempts from at least 50 yards.[6]
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 became the first player from Fort Payne high school ever to play in an NFL regular season game.[14]
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 33-yard game-winning field goal to secure a 27-24 win, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[15][16] 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.[17][18] 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.[19]
McPherson finished the season 28/33 on field goal attempts (84.8%), with 9 of 11 from at least 50 yards. In the Bengals playoff game against the Las Vegas Raiders, he made 4 of 4 field goals, assisting the team to a 26-19 victory that gave them their first postseason win in 31 years. Subsequently, in a Divisional Round game, he again made 4 of 4 field goals, including two from over 50 yards. His 52-yard field goal as time expired gave the Bengals a 19-16 win over the Tennessee Titans to send them to the first AFC Championship Game since 1988. McPherson also became the first kicker in NFL history to kick 4 field goals in multiple games during the same postseason.[20] In the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, McPherson made all four field goal attempts, including a game winning 31 yard field goal in overtime in the 27-24 win, advancing the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI.[21]
General | Field goals | PATs | Kickoffs | Points | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | GP | FGM | FGA | FG% | Blck | Long | XPM | XPA | XP% | KO | Avg | TBs | Pts |
2021 | CIN | 16 | 28 | 33 | 84.8% | 0 | 58 | 46 | 48 | 95.8% | 91 | 63.9 | 55 | 130 |
Career | 16 | 28 | 33 | 84.8% | 0 | 58 | 46 | 48 | 95.8% | 91 | 63.9 | 55 | 130 |
General | Field goals | PATs | Kickoffs | Points | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | GP | FGM | FGA | FG% | Blck | Long | XPM | XPA | XP% | KO | Avg | TBs | Pts |
2021 | CIN | 3 | 12 | 12 | 100% | 0 | 54 | 4 | 4 | 100.0% | 12 | 64.1 | 7 | 40 |
Career | 3 | 12 | 12 | 100% | 0 | 54 | 4 | 4 | 100.0% | 12 | 64.1 | 7 | 40 |
McPherson is a Christian.[22] McPherson is engaged to Gracie Groat.[23]
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.[24] In 2021, Alex announced his commitment to attend Auburn University.[25] Alex is currently the highest-ranked kicker in the 2022 class.[26]
Presented content of the Wikipedia article was extracted in 2022-01-31 based on https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=67549524