[theramswire.usatoday.com] Rams rookie Zach Evans was compared a 2-time Pro Bowl RB before the draft

Cameron DaSilva
May 4, 2023 8:40 am PT
Zach Evans is joining the Rams as a sixth-round rookie but there’s a good chance he outplays his draft position in Los Angeles. It was surprising to hear his name called so late in the draft after he was ranked in the top 150 by a lot of analysts, but the Rams are thrilled to have landed him at No. 215 overall, even if they had to move up 37 spots to make it happen.

He’s a running back who brings good size, physicality and speed to the offense, proving to be a big-play threat for Ole Miss and TCU during his career in college. Not many running backs manage to average 6.9 yards per carry across three seasons like Evans did.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar ranked Evans as the seventh-best running back in the class and he compared the Rams rookie to a two-time Pro Bowler: Melvin Gordon.

Farrar also compared Kenneth Walker III to Gordon in 2022, but he feels Evans is more powerful in his lower half than Gordon or Walker.

NFL Comparison: Melvin Gordon III. Last year, I compared Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III to Gordon, and it fit — everywhere from the slashing running style to the embryonic receiver abilities to the occasional garish whiffs in pass protection. Walker turned into an asset for the Seahawks in his rookie season, and Evans reminds me a lot of both backs in his predilection for consistently exhibiting speed and agility, and I think that Evans is more powerful at his base than either of those backs.

Evans turns out to be the Rams’ version of Gordon, they should be very happy. Though he only rushed for 1,000 yards once, he’s averaged 4.1 yards per carry in his career and scored 55 touchdowns despite missing time with injury almost every season.

Farrar wasn’t the only analyst to make that pro comparison, either. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein did the same, likening Evans to Gordon in his scouting report and giving him a fourth-round projection with the third-best grade of any running back in the 2023 class.

That’s some high praise from Zierlein.

Evans has a lot to prove and he dealt with his own injury struggles in college, but he’ll get an opportunity to contribute early on as the No. 2 or 3 back behind Cam Akers and Kyren Williams.