Why Rams Coach Sean McVay Thinks RB Zach Evans is 'Special'
There were an NFL-record 43 trades across three days of this year's draft, an average of roughly six picks per trade.
Such deals are made when teams have a conviction on players; this is, of course, especially true at the top of the draft ... but for the Los Angeles Rams, it correlates through all seven rounds.
Just ask Rams coach Sean McVay, who said that sixth-round running back Zach Evans has "some special traits" that resulted in the team moving pick No. 252 and a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for No. 215 and the right to select the Ole Miss standout.
It's not excessively common for players selected in the 200s to earn the "special" tag - but the Rams believe that Evans is different.
Standing just under 5-11 and tipping the scales at 202 pounds, Evans earned third-team All-SEC honors this past season, his first with the Rebels after spending two years at TCU.
He logged 144 carries for 936 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging a league-high six and a half yards per carry while adding 12 catches for 119 yards and a score.
Evans, who turns 22 at the end of May, was a five-star recruit out of North Shore High School in Houston, Texas, and became an impact player for the Horned Frogs before leaving for Oxford last year.
Away from football, Evans impressed in the classroom, earning multiple All-Big 12 Academic honors.
In essence, there's a lot to like about Evans - including, per McVay, the manner in which he fits Los Angeles' running backs room entering the summer.
“I think he has a nice skillset that compliments Cam (Akers), compliments Kyren Williams, Ronnie Rivers," McVay said. "And so, I think you're always still looking at complimentary skillsets, whether that's in a receiver, tight end, running back room. And that was kind of the appealing thing about Zach."
McVay gave credit to the Rams' scouting department for finding Evans to be a "good fit," as the Super Bowl-winning coach didn't get exposure until later in the pre-draft process.
Following Akers' resurgence down the stretch of 2022, Los Angeles entered the offseason optimistic about its ballcarriers, as the staff is notedly high on Williams and Rivers.
But with Evans, the value and fit simply made too much sense to not trade up, as McVay sees a natural running back with plenty of talent - who might just have something "special" to him.
"I thought (Evans) did a great job at Ole Miss, but even some of the stuff going back to TCU where he's taking more handoffs out of the pistol, you could really see he's a smooth runner," McVay said. "He's got a seamless ability to be able to work edges on people."
The battle for Evans now becomes first finding his way onto the roster and then onto the playing field ... but it's evident the Rams are high on his potential.
And with that, Evans appears to have found a strong landing spot - with an eye toward doing something special moving forward.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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