Though the Rams had Cam Akers and Kyren Williams already at running back, they didn’t stand pat in the draft and selected Zach Evans out of Ole Miss in the sixth round. They traded up 37 spots to take Evans at No. 215 overall, coveting the former Rebels running back.
He may not be a household name for Rams fans or a marquee prospect as a sixth-rounder, but Evans has a lot of potential in Los Angeles’ offense after a solid career at TCU and Ole Miss.
Here are four things to know about Evans.
1
He was a 5-star recruit, 16th-best player in the 2020 class
Evans was a very highly regarded recruit out of North Shore High School in Houston, Texas. He was the No. 16 overall recruit in the country in 2020, earning a five-star rating and an overall grade of 90 from ESPN. He was the top overall running back in a class that included Bijan Robinson, and he was also the No. 1 recruit in Texas.
As a result of his status as a top recruit, he received offers from just about every marquee program. He narrowed down his final four to Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M, but eventually enrolled at TCU and played two years there.
2
Led SEC with 6.5 yards per carry in 2022
No SEC running back averaged more yards per carry than Evans last season. He gained 6.5 yards per carry as a junior, rushing for a career-best 936 yards on 144 carries with nine touchdowns. It was his lowest per-carry average in three college seasons, but it was also arguably his most impressive because it came in the SEC.
His 6.5 yards per carry were tied for 18th-best in the FBS, too, showing just how efficient a runner he was last season.
3
Led Power 5 RBs with 4.8 yards after contact per attempt since 2020
According to Evans’ bio at Ole Miss, he led all Power 5 running backs with 4.8 yards after contact per attempt since he got to TCU in 2020, an impressive show of his physical running style. He’s not the biggest running back, but he plays with good contact balance and breaks tackles regularly. Pair that with his breakaway speed and it’s easy to see why he was such a highly regarded recruit.
4
He averaged at least 6.5 yards per carry in more than half his career games
Evans played 27 games in his college career, which isn’t very many, all things considered. He only had at least 10 carries in 15 of them, so he wasn’t necessarily a workhorse at TCU or Ole Miss.
Despite that, he averaged at least 6.5 yards per carry in 14 of his 27 career games, including 10 of the 15 games where he had at least 10 carries. He was a very efficient runner and had at least 100 yards on the ground 10 times in his career.
