Rams pick at 215 … Evans, RB

ZACH EVANS | Ole Miss 5111 | 202 lbs. | 3JR Houston, Texas (North Shore) 5/30/2001 (age 21.91) #6

BACKGROUND: Zachary “Zach” Evans, who is the youngest of five boys, was raised northeast of downtown Houston by his mother (Antoinette). He followed in the footsteps of his older brothers and started playing football in elementary school and emerged as an up-and-coming star in middle school. Evans enrolled at Galena Park North Shore High School, where he was a four-year varsity letterman as a running back. He rushed for 1,483 yards and 27 touchdowns as a sophomore and was recognized as the District’s Newcomer of the Year. As a junior, Evans led North Shore to a 15-0 record and No. 1 ranking nationally, including the 2018 6A state championship. He finished his junior year with 1,784 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns and was named the National Player of the Year. Evans again helped North Shore to the 6A state title in 2019, although he was suspended for the championship game (third game he missed as a senior because of suspension). He finished his senior year with 1,600 rushing yards (12.6 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns, earning first team All-American and All-State honors. Evans earned MVP honors at the Under Armor All-American Game. He finished his prep career with 4,867 rushing yards and 76 touchdowns. A five-star recruit, Evans was the No. 2 running back in the 2020 recruiting class (behind Bijan Robinson) and the No. 1 recruit in Texas. He ranked No. 16 overall
nationally and was the highest-ranked running back from Texas since Adrian Peterson at one point during his recruitment. As a freshman, he received his first scholarship offer from LSU, which had recently signed another North Shore product K’Lavon Chaisson. Shortly after, the recruiting floodgates opened, and Evans was offered a full ride from almost every national program. During his senior season, he announced four finalists: Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M. Evans signed with Georgia during the early signing period but planned to wait until the All-American Game to reveal his choice. But he delayed the announcement, and Georgia released him from his letter of intent in January. Evans reopened his recruitment and was reportedly considering LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas A&M. But national signing day came and went without Evans choosing a school. A few months later in May 2020, Evans enrolled at TCU, which surprised everyone who tracked his roller coaster recruitment. He was not only the highest-ranked recruit in the Horned Frogs’ 2020 class (one spot ahead of wide receiver Quentin Johnston), but he was highest-ranked recruit in the history of the program (TCU’s first five-star signee). After two seasons in Fort Worth, Evans elected to enter the transfer portal and resurfaced at Ole Miss for the 2022 season. His father figure growing up was his grandfather (Albert), who passed away in September 2018. Evans elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2023 NFL Draft.

YEAR (GP/GS) CAR YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD NOTES
2020: (9/3) 54 418 7.7 4 8 76 9.5 0 TCU; Started the final three games
2021: (6/5) 92 648 7.0 5 10 130 13.0 1 TCU; Led team in rushing; Missed six games (turf toe)
2022: (12/8) 144 936 6.5 9 12 119 9.9 1 Ole Miss; Missed one game (hip)
Total: (27/16) 290 2,002 6.9 18 30 325 10.8 2

HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
COMBINE 5111 202 31 5/8 10 1/4 78 1/2 – – – – – – – – (no workout – left hamstring)
PRO DAY 5111 208 31 1/4 10 1/8 76 7/8 4.50 2.57 1.57 33 1/2 10’1” 4.25 6.89 – (no bench press – choice)

STRENGTHS: Sleek, balanced runner with an athletic build … displays the lower body explosiveness to nimbly burst in any direction … matches his vision with his onestep acceleration to clear holes and speed away from the crowd … skillfully weaves through traffic and shows a natural understanding of run angles … at his best on pitch/toss plays that get him on an outside track … shows a breakaway gear to distance himself from the crowd … inconsistent push-the-pile power but builds up speed, lowers his pads and barrels through contact at the second and third levels … uses a physical stiff-arm to fend off tacklers … catches the ball well on the move and should excel in the screen/swing game … wasn’t overused in college, logging only 320 offensive touches … consistently created chunk plays (averaged nearly 7.0 yards per carry and 11.0 yards per catch over his three-year career).

WEAKNESSES: Upright runner with inconsistent pad level … undeveloped patience and block reading between the tackles … occasionally runs with blinders and will miss some backside opportunities … his legs lose life at contact as an inside runner … makes some curious second-level decisions and needs to do a better job settling his feet to set up open-field cuts … true pass protection reps were rare on film and unproven as a blocker … will run before securing throws (five drops on 43 career targets) … wasn’t a return man in college and has minimal special teams experience … the character and medical vetting process will be imperative … he was suspended twice as a senior in high school for “violating team rules” and missed three games, including the 2019 state championship game … battled several injuries the past two seasons: missed six of the final seven games as a sophomore with a turf toe injury (October 2021); missed one game as a junior with a hip injury (September 2022); knocked out of the Alabama game with a concussion (November 2022); sidelined for the NFL Scouting Combine with a left hamstring injury (March 2023).

SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Ole Miss, Evans shared the workload with SEC Freshman of the Year Quinshon Judkins in head coach Lane Kiffin’s RPO-based scheme. His carries and rushing production increased each of his three college seasons, although he accounted for only 23.5 percent of the Rebels’ carries in 2022. With his explosive one-cut skills, Evans has fantastic feet to give defenders the slip and excels with an outside track, using his acceleration to win the corner, out-angle pursuit and weave through the defense. His all-gas run style can be effective (22.9 percent of his carries in 2022 resulted in a 10-plus-yard gain), but he would also benefit with improved patience to better set-up blocks and force missed tackles. Overall, Evans has some baggage and a few undeveloped areas on his NFL résumé, but there is no denying his burst and balance to create explosive plays in different ways. A boom-or-bust prospect, he has the athletic talent to be a dynamic change-of-pace option and offers RB1 potential for an NFL offense.

GRADE: 3rd-4th Round

Zach Evans introducing himself pic.twitter.com/PnVTnp5CwQ

— Rams Brothers (@RamsBrothers) April 29, 2023

Good vision and patience from Ole Miss RB Zach Evans. Ole Miss running IZ, Evans IDs the MIKE in the A gap, waits for his OL to climb to the 2nd level to get the MIKE then explodes through the B gap….then it's speed for the chunk play pic.twitter.com/aiiqqyXHnI

— EJHolt_NFLDraft🏈 (@EJunkie215) September 5, 2022

Zach Evans #nfldraft

Time to take one last look at…his vision:

-scheme knowledge
-addressing unplanned obstacles
-integrating eyes/mind/feet
-game script management

This is a mature/advanced run below. I will add to this thread as night progresses pic.twitter.com/YP2vdOCelM

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) March 8, 2023

Somewhat similar to riding the wave in the way Jeff Wilson is so good at, Zach Evans is good at setting up unblocked 2nd level defenders #nfldraft pic.twitter.com/yDX7Nkp7bw

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) March 8, 2023

I can’t tell you about anything with him off the field with certainty. But when on it and healthy, Zach Evans is capable of playing the RB position as well as any prospect in this class.

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) March 8, 2023

From Chad Reuter, Ranking favorite picks in every round: https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-nfl-draft-ranking-favorite-picks-in-every-round?campaign=Twitter_atn

Zach Evans

Drafted: No. 215 overall

Speaking of low-risk, high-reward picks, that’s exactly what the Rams got in the sixth round with Evans. The Ole Miss running back is a top-five back in the class when on point, powering through contact, stiff-arming defenders and finding a burst in the second level to create explosive plays. Don’t be surprised if he takes some carries from Cam Akers this season.

You have to love seeing Zach Evans in the open field. Unless you're on defense.@runzekerun01 | #HottyToddy
🖥 https://t.co/Rym42sGbrF pic.twitter.com/zNgCSH2BtM

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 8, 2022